Keep your foot on the gas

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The timeline of racial injustice stemming from slavery, segregation and mass incarceration to police brutality dates back centuries but today the world is forced to see and recognize the unfortunate trauma that Black people have

endured overtime.

During the time of stay at home orders, when everything was on pause, we witnessed the public lynching of George Floyd by the knee of a police officer.

This occurred after also having seen the fatal shootings of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man jogging outside; and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year old medical technician murdered in her sleep.

Cities erupted globally powering the movement against police brutality and racial injustice overall. Today, after 400 years of oppression there is finally a mass outrage and outcry for change.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the world to stop and pay attention to a racial pandemic that cannot be ignored. During this time many feel helpless and have a simple question, “what can I do to help create change?” The first step is being aware and also realizing that your fight in the journey for justice may not look like your fellow counterparts, but you must do your part. Taking action to create change and being an ally in the battle against racial injustice can include but is not limited to protesting, donating, signing petitions, learning more about Black History and systemic oppression, voting, speaking out against racism, etc.

While police brutality is at the forefront, we’re dealing with other significant issues in the Black community that stem from systemic inequality which

include the racial wealth gap, lack of

access to healthcare, lack of funding of education, lack of diversity in the workplace, etc. Racism is widespread problem built into every level of our society and its necessary that we take action to confront it head on. During this time, we’ve seen businesses such as Ben & Jerry’s speak out again systemic injustice noting that when we stand together and fight it, we all benefit. It’s amazing to see large corporations speaking up and take a stance but the most important part in all of this is to take action not just today but every day moving forward.

This year, Juneteenth carried a deeper meaning in the wake of Black lives lost to police brutality. As we approached the holiday, I had a white colleague express to me that this was a moment in history she was unaware of because it was not present in our history books and she was right. There’s so much of our history from oppression faced to the achievements of Black people that is unknown to the majority. Moving forward, we must be intentional about educating the future gener- ation because Black History is American History and must be acknowledged.

We see how far we’ve come, but also recognize how far we have left to go. One thing I’ve noticed is that the attention toward this movement has started to ease up, but we must remember that the “Black Lives Matter” movement is not a fad. Now is the time to keep your foot on the gas. Keep the same energy in your fight because change will not happen in one day. All lives will not matter until Black skin, Black beauty, Black art, Black style, Black History, Black culture, Black men, Black women, and BLACK LIVES MATTER!

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