I’m sure we all know about the death of George Floyd. Before going on I want to just pay my respects by saying may he rest in perfect peace and God bless his soul and his family. Now the black community has endured violence, hate and oppression for centuries. Why?
WHAT WE’VE BEEN THROUGH
Instead of explaining slavery, colonialism or France still being in control of certain economies in Africa, I want to briefly highlight two particularly dreadful events that went down in black history.
· THE TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS EXPERIMENT
In 1932, when there was no known treatment for syphilis, hundreds of black men were enrolled on a testing project after being promised medical care. These men were used as test monkeys, treated carelessly and eventually left to die.
· THE DEVASTATION OF BLACK WALL STREET
In 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s greenwood district (also known as black wall street) was one of the most prosperous black communities at the time. The African-American community thrived and had many successful businesses at the time. White supremacists took reports of a black man raping a white woman as gospel truth and as an excuse to perform unprecedented racial violence and they completely destroyed black wall street.
HOW THEY SEE US
I believe that a person in their right mind would not kill or assault a fellow human being but for a long time black people actually haven’t been seen as human beings. In the past we were even represented as apes in certain films and cartoons. The idea that was painted to tone down the inhumane nature of what our ancestors were put through was that we were not human. Anything that even made a negro seem more human-like reading- was highly frowned upon. After all no mentally stable person would enslave and torture someone they considered human. So to certain people what black people endured was okay because to them we were not even human.
WHEN THEY SEE US
Black is what they see first. In some minds we are compared to rabid dogs and wild animals that can’t control themselves and know nothing but to steal kill and destroy. That’s why people clench their purses when they are close to us, look at us funny when we enter shops and punish us like animals. To some each and every one of us is just another wild black man that can’t amount to anything justly.
AFRICA’S INVOLVEMENT
Even in this continent, we can’t say our hands are completely clean when it comes to discrimination. There is still tribalism among Africans today and killings based on national or cultural differences. Some people don’t respond well to different.
WE ARE ONE RACE
So now you know about the hate in the world, let me tell you how we can move forward. We need to embrace our differences and stand up for what is right. We need to respect other people’s beliefs, religion, lifestyle and choices and not force ours on them or assume ours is in any way superior. We need to love one another and stand up for each other as one single race, because in the end we are just one race. The human race!
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