I'm writing today as the mother of African American children...
My heart hurts. I'm sad about the world today. I'm angry. I'm confused. I feel helpless. I don't want my children to leave the house. I don't want my children to live in this terrifying world today. I want to protect them and I know that there is only so much that I can do. I want the world to see ALL of my children, but ESPECIALLY my African American children as children. Children who are exploring the world and learning the wrongs and rights. Children who have harmed no one.
My 19 year old African American son said to me yesterday, "I wish I was white." No, baby. No! I want you to embrace your African American culture. I want you to be proud of who you are. I want you to recognize the history of your people and feel pride in overcoming the obstacles put forth because of the color of your skin. How can he feel pride in those things when he's scared? How can he embrace those things when they are the very things that make him a target?
If we're being completely honest, I said to my husband the night before, "is it wrong that I'm glad he's a homebody with very light colored skin?" It IS wrong! As a mother, we shouldn't have to fear for our children's lives because of the color of their skin!
The world is so broken. I was going to say, "it's so broken right now" but the truth is that this world has been broken for a very long time. Yes, the country has made progress but we need to do more. We need to acknowledge the injustices in this country. We need to address the differences in the courts, in the grocery stores, in the way we police societies. We need to see the colors in order to embrace the colors.
We must do better. We must do more. We must do what needs to be done to fight these injustices. We must continue to educate people about these differences so they can understand where the anger and hurt come from. We must stop accepting bigotry and start calling it out for what it is. We must stop turning our heads because it's uncomfortable. We must face these facts and actions head on.
BLACK LIVES MATTER UNTIL ALL LIVES MATTER!
