The world is imploding at the very least. And because I’m Black, to me, it’s just another day in the life.
Black Lives Matter. PERIOD!!! So why did it take companies, “friends,” and coworkers to witness (another) death — this time being George Floyd — to say anything about our lives for the very first time in their lives? Simple. Black Lives don’t really matter to most of these people.
The problem is empathy
… Or the lack thereof from Non-Black people. White people don’t necessarily have to look out for each other the way Black people and POC have to in order to build success for their community. Black people have to work 10 times harder for anything they want. And if you’re a Black woman, double that. LGBTQIA? Pssshhh! By society’s standards, the numbers switch and/or go up depending on your gender expression, how much pretty privilege you have, body mass index, and the list goes on. But trust and believe that if you’re Black, you’re playing with your life, every round.
I don’t like screaming at brick walls, but that’s what Black people are doing every day when asking, begging and pleading for change. But sadly racism works like a range, and unfortunately, the lighter you are, the bigger your platform you have to make noise. But most people with those platforms don’t make noise for Black people. It may be for our rap music, our “exotic” melanated skin that you try to copy with your self-tanner. Maybe we get noise for our naturally plump asses and full lips — none of which is attributed to who we just are, of course.
When we still have titles like “the first Black (insert anything here. Literally anything you want)” the math doesn’t add up. So for brands to say Black Lives Matter is false when there are mounds of evidence against said very statement. I’d be rich if I made a $1 off every brand who lied the week of George Floyd’s murder and continues to lie about their efforts to support Black people, Black artists, Black creators and Black entrepreneurs alike.
I don’t give a damn what the calendar says. It’s Juneteenth all over again. Because until Black people are truly free, all ya’ll should be in chains.
