PANDEMIC. PROTESTS. POSSIBILITIES.
"There can be no peace without understanding." – African proverb
Righteous uprisings are never pretty and clean.
Hearts are breaking, raging and buildings are burning against America’s maniacal machine of oppression that remains unbending.
Understand this: Until Black children, Black women, Black men, Black families, Black culture, Black institutions thrive, this cycle of palatable pain, rage, and mistrust will continue to manifest. It is that simple. We are tired of feeling helpless and hopeless. We are tired of being asked to stop our whining and be content with any little bandage thrown our way to hide our scars and fix a broken system.
So, what is it going to be, America? 400 years of oppression once again raises its ugly head, shining the spotlight on the pervasive destruction of Black lives.
You can no longer look the other way, dismiss the reality of millions of citizens because it inconveniences you. It frightens or confuses you. Makes you uncomfortable. Try living with the daily inconvenience of bigotry – the micro and macroaggressions that come with being Black in America. It does not matter your background or accomplishments - degrees won’t protect you, money won't protect you, the "right" neighborhood or job won't protect you – not from oppression. Not here, in America.
What we are witnessing across our country and across the globe, is a fight for our humanity. Black people have grown tired of trying to convince you of our humanness. Even more so, here at home, in America, what we are seeing is a battle against white supremacy in its most malicious, malevolent, oppressive, and historic form - the system(s). Neo-Nazis and the KKK are not the sole face of hate in America. Under-resourced schools and communities, the school to prison pipeline, food deserts, police brutality, redlining, the criminalization of black pain, and underfunded businesses are based in hatred. The existence and undeniable overt operation of two different educational, economic, cultural, housing, and justice systems in this country - one to the benefit of White people, the other to the undermining and destruction of Black people – is the TRUE face of hate in our country. This SYSTEM built by wealthy, white men to protect their interests, their property, their present and future, is embedded in institutions, government policies, and more dangerously, within the minds of millions, and inflicts more harm than any gang of Neo-Nazis trolling our streets or the internet.
Since arriving to America's shores 400 years ago as somebody's, some country's, some queen's property, our struggle has been against white supremacy. Since 1619, and every generation that followed, Black folks have witnessed and experienced the physical and metaphorical suffocation of our dignity and humanity by many a white man's knee on our necks and in our backs, many a white woman's tears inciting white fear and rage on Black bodies, and many evil and unjust policies intent to break our spirits, our families, and communities.
If you have an issue with the oppressed tearing down buildings, then be about the difficult, critical, and important work of dismantling our country's oppressive systems. This is the only way out of this vicious cycle. This ebb and flow of a little progress, then a lot of setback that leads once again to pain, rage, and hopelessness. In any successful process to deconstruct and reinvent, demolition comes with the territory. Walls are opened, floors are pulled up, windows are torn out...it is dirty but rewarding work.
And so, I ask, "America, do you see yourself for what you are? Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty for the greater good?” The mirror is up yet again and ironically, in a so called "post racial" era. A Black president could not save us. The man residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue does not want to save us. Have you finally looked in the mirror God and history is holding up for you to see? Now, is not the time to hide. Do not look away! Wipe away the condensation of shame and fear that hinders your view. Look in the mirror and finally admit you see the honest to God face of our problem. This is not the time to tip toe around and mince words. America's problem, our problem, Black people’s problem has and always will be the promotion and protection of White supremacy. Period. No more lies. White lies are the worst.
Let us not forget that this, too, is a fight for goodness. If America’s trust is truly in God, if this is not a myth or lie, then when will it behave, operate, and build in the way God requires? And not through the blatant and blasphemous bastardization of holy, Godly tenets and beliefs, for the purpose of bending and building the laws to justify the active presence of white supremacy. But for humanity’s sake. And this country’s soul.
EQUITY is at this core of finally setting things right. Everyone deserves decent housing, decent schools, jobs that pay a living wage, safe neighborhoods, healthcare, access to quality food, grace, and protection by the police. Is this call for basic human rights truly threatening? It shouldn’t be. It is Christian. It is human. It is right. If anyone reading this feels such a request or demand is too much to ask of our country, some unachievable dream, or a threat to your life and livelihood, you are in the least, selfish, but most likely a privileged beneficiary of an unjust system that has blinded and hardened you to your fellow man.
To my African and Black brothers and sisters, especially those of us whose ancestors were enslaved on these shores, understand this: I still choose to reside in the realm of possibilities. This timely and potent mixture of pain, a global pandemic, rage, exhaustion, hope, AND an awakened consciousness might finally save us. It is now or never. Ain't no turning back! Organize, vote, pray, heal, demonstrate, build, create, speak up, rebel, learn, demand, raise fists and the bar in this struggle. This is our moment!
My daughter just turned fifteen. She recently asked my husband and me, "Is the world ending?" Her world, our world has been shaken to its core. This is a lot for all of us to process. The truth is the world as we know it IS ending and it does not have to do so in some Shakespearean tragedy. This could be an opportunity, filled with limitless possibilities of positive transformation. A moment meant to be seized to finally shape, build, and embrace a new country, a new world where goodness, not greed; love, not lust; equity not empty promises; and justice, not jeopardy, finally reign!
Black lives deserve to reside in such a world.
Anyika McMillan-Herod comes from a family of organizers. She is a Dallas artivist, fundraiser, writer, and Co-Founder/Managing Director of Soul Rep Theatre Company. Anyika is a 2019 Public Voices Fellow with the OpEd Project. Follow her on Facebook and IG at AuthorAnyika or Twitter @AuthorAnyika.