A Reconciliation of Black Life
I am one of the People of Color that are being crushed and constricted by the hate, bigotry and genocide that illuminates our country today. As I attempt to find the words to explain to my two Black boys and daughter that our race, our culture and identity is on the endangered species list, I tremble.
How can I sell the dream of freedom and liberty ….. when I cannot ensure the promise of life?
The moments that take my breath away daily include the very presence of police and the instant insecurity in knowing if there is a bounty on mine or my family’s lives. This updated reality is constantly plaguing my peace and paralyzing my faith. I am now and will forever be a container of fear for my children so that they can attempt to experience what is robbed of so many of our community; purity and presence with impunity.
I sit as a witness to the cadence of Murder. Protest. Funeral. Repeat. These cycles played out in a virtual reality that is redefining what family reunion means to me. As I pinch myself, it brings me to a reality that I can feel pain externally that is unparalleled to the internal erosion of my soul being expelled as I watch the theft of yet another Black body.
The chains that restricted my ancestors formed the bond that connects our community to one another. Pain and trauma is passed down from one generation to the next and is ignored because of a misinterpretation of our resiliency and misdiagnosis of Black pain tolerance.
There are so many reasons why Black Lives Matter, and the one that remains with me is my belief and reality that Black life and legacy is a family heirloom. Unlike our white counterparts who may have had a family crest, grandparents jewelry or tangible home adornment to affirm their history, we as a Black community have our people and their stories. My responsibility is to pass down a story of our people and their legacy as a token of wisdom and personification of a memory of our molders.
I write and speak because I want my existence to be preserved and my story told in as much of my control as possible, so if my life flees this world before the discovery of a cure of this disease called racism, someone can see and hear me and value my life just as much as their own.
We the People of Color have a Legacy that Matters.
