Is it that just being a black man can get you killed in America? It's hard to argue against it when so many young black men are killed everyday in their own neighborhoods. What's even harder to argue is that they don't have to be criminals or "bad guys". They can look suspicious to a Neighborhood Watch Captain and can breath their last breath steps away from their father's fiance's home. They can be Trayvon Martin. This latest story has made me think about the future of my son and my nephew. I think about teaching them right from wrong and telling them to get a great education and how to treat women but it's hard to tell them all this when the truth is because they were born black, they can be killed. It's a sad reality for the black men and boys of this world.
The line by Omar Epps in the movie Higher Learning makes more sense to me now. In the movie scene he was saying that he was a threat to the world as a black man whether he was educated or not. I have been a witness to the racism of this country. I have seen white women grab their purses a little tighter at the sight of a black man. I have seen white people walk across the street just to avoid the oncoming of a young black man on a college campus. I have been a car with a white woman who took the scenic route to avoid an entire neighborhood. If you think racism is not alive and well in this country, it stands to reason that you must live under a rock.
Trayvon Martin did not have to die for black people to know that racism surrounds us everywhere we go. It's not in our imaginations. Racism is apart of our world. It hasn't changed since the days of slavery. Racism has simply gotten more sophisticated. Black people are not getting lynched, literally, but we are getting lynched. Just look at the unemployment rate of black people compared to those of our white counterparts. The difference is extremely significant. Now compare the rate to that of black men and you will see the number increase dramatically. The fact that the President is black has only increased the volume of racism. It's loud and open and not afraid to spew hate. When I see cases like Trayvon Martin I can't help but to worry about all the black men and boys that I know. They are risk of being hunted and killed not for for what they do but simply for what they look like.
It's true that black men are not innocent in the way they are perceived. Some of them often feed into the stereotype of who they should be and how they should act. They wear clothes that are too big. They drive cars that have rims on them that are too big. They hang on street corners until the wee hours of the morning. They sell drugs. They listen to the music in their cars so loud that it often feels like they will crack windows to the homes they drive by. Some of them do all these the things without caring how they are perceived by the world. On the other hand, black men are fathers. They work hard to support their families. They have corporate jobs and own their own businesses. They wear suits and ties. They go to college and receive a degree. The drive a nice car and live in gated communities. They go to church and pray to God. All of the examples have been given does not change one fact, they are black and they are perceived as a threat.
As a mother, a life partner, a daughter, a sister, a family member and friend to every type of black man, I'm scared. Scared that one day I will receive the same call that Trayvon Martin's parents received. The call saying that my child, my life partner, my dad, my brother, my family member or my friend is dead simply because he is black. It is a fear deep rooted in the black community. There is not a single white person who fears the same thing. If you have a chance go the website globalgrind.com and read the article by Michael Skolnik, titled, White People, You Will Never Look Suspicious. Sometimes we have to speak up for the injustice in the world, not because we are black but because we are people. Injustice against black men is an injustice to all people. Speak out against it. Do something about it. Bring attention to it. FIGHT AGAINST IT.
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