America, you have ignored the voices of many far too long. To routinely deny your child a seat at the dinner table and expect no resentment is a fool’s errand. Across the nation, Americans have united to protest the cyclical horrors of police brutality as the life of George Floyd was inhumanely taken. It is a sad day when those sworn to protect and serve are those who murder in cold blood. Conversely, it is a beautiful day when the oppressed vehemently reject the obscene nature of their reality and receive support from many of their fellow countrymen.
It is undeniably surreal to witness the current events taking place in the world, let alone our country. However, it is an easy task to demonize the flaws of others without ever undergoing thorough introspection. A task that America is quite familiar with. Black Americans have been systemically discriminated against, brutally beaten, and killed, among having to face so many other atrocities, while their perpetrators face little to no consequences. Black Americans have had enough. This notion is made evident by the ongoing protests countrywide. Despite the insidious attempts by many, including the president, to weave divisiveness into the fabric of our country, it is the unwavering unity of so many Americans that deserves praise. Despite the obvious diversity among protesters, they have been able to coalesce around one of the principles on which our Declaration of Independence was professed to stand, that all men are created equal. We need not all look alike, think alike, nor talk alike. In fact, our diversity in ethnicity and in thought must be embraced. However, our diversity should never impede our ability to advocate for equality and just treatment, it should be a catalyst. Perhaps this demonstration of unity will serve as a blueprint moving forward.
One of the common criticisms of the protests is that they have devolved into riots comprised of looting and violence. This critique can come across as short-sighted when put into context. In fact, it hovers in the realm of hypocrisy along with much other mainstream American ideology. If it were not for the looting of the land that we now call the United States of America, we would not be a nation. If it were not for the looting of human beings from Africa, forced into a life of servitude and providing involuntary free labor that served as the backbone of the American economy while enduring grotesque violence, the nation would have never had the means to become a world super power. Donald Trump referred to those involved with the vandalism of Target as thugs. However, is it not fair to ask who the original thugs of this country are?
Many Americans claim that protests should be peaceful, and that nonviolence should be the sole form of activism. In a perfect world, I would agree. In theory this one-dimensional form of protesting sounds viable, but in practice does not prove to be adequate. If it were not for the tactics deployed by the Black Panther Party and others, it is highly unlikely that Martin Luther King Jr. would have been looked upon as fondly as he was, despite his eventual assassination. In fact, look no further than Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest that resulted in him being blackballed out of his industry. It is apparent that peacefully protesting fails to garner attention to the extent that ‘rioting’ does. When seeking independence from the British, the colonies did not peacefully protest. There was the Boston Tea Party and eventually the Revolutionary War. When people have been unfathomably looted, disenfranchised, and treated as a public enemy by their own nation, what are they to do? These protests are a cry for help, a cry to be heard, and a cry to be acknowledged.
America, what will you do when the child you have denied a seat at the table for so many years no longer asks for a seat, but demands one?