If you aren't aware of what is occurring in America, you've been living under a rock. We are currently in the second Civil Rights movement in the middle of a pandemic in the midst of a near-fascist tyrannical presidency.
I am a white woman studying secondary education with an emphasis on social studies. I eat, sleep, and breathe history.
Black people are being murdered in America by police. The entire policing system was founded on the enslavement of slaves post-13th Amendment. The 13th amendment ends slavery of persons with the exception of criminals. Mass incarceration began immediately after the 13th amendment was established so people could enslave black people with a different set of chains.
The American Revolution was 246 years ago.
Slavery was abolished 155 years ago.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was established 56 years ago.
Interracial marriages were legalized 53 years ago. (Loving v. Virginia)
The last "official" lynching by the KKK was 39 years ago.
This is not ancient history. Racism is interwoven in every facet of our society and impacts every single POC someway. Education, policing, the legal system, etc. are all designed to oppress minorities.
The videos of police beating American citizens is not only disgusting but an unfortunate reality we are faced with and must decide if we want to be on the right side of history. Do we want to stand with the people desperately fighting for their lives, for recognition as human beings, for safety when driving home simply because of the color of their skin? Or are we on the side of the people who are paid to protect and serve and yet here they are firing tear gas and rubber bullets into crowds of peaceful protesters and pushing a 75 year old man to the ground and cracking his skull open? For macing a ten year old? For firing a tear gas canister and rubber bullets at a pregnant woman who wasn't even in the protests and was just trying to get home? For tazing an innocent college student driving home who had the tazer barbs in his back for six hours?
This is not a white vs black thing. This is not "only black lives matter". This is racism vs. everyone. This is hate vs. Americans. People are DYING. Protesters are DYING. All lives can't matter until black lives matter.
So I will not be posting for a while in respect of the historic moment right now. Instead I will be focusing on educating myself, educating others, protesting (peacefully and safely), signing petitions, and donating my time and money. This is a marathon, it's a sprint. This is not some "trendy" thing to do. This is a lifelong commitment to fighting the injustices we see in the world.
One day I will have to teach this moment to my students. I want to be able to look them in the eye and be able to tell them that I stood on the right side of history. Will you be able to look at your children and say the same thing?
Say their names. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Tamir Rice. Eric Garner. Freddie Gray. Laquan McDonald. Sandra Bland. Trayvon Martin. Atatiana Jefferson. Mike Brown. Philando Castile. There's so many I can list. There's so many that weren't filmed.
BLACK. LIVES. MATTER.
(I have resources to educate yourself if you need suggestions for documentaries, books, podcasts, etc. DM me or comment. Also if you are struggling and need someone to speak to, you can always message me. If you want to calmly discuss and debate these issues, you can message me. If you're looking for a fight, you can leave.)
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