#BlackLivesMatter

by Khushi Patel

I cannot speak on behalf of the Black community, but I can continue to spread awareness about what is happening. The Black community needs everyone’s help right now during this time. The murder of George Floyd was the tipping point to hundreds of years of injustice and inequality that Black people face every day. Every day. The explicit discrimination that has embodied America for hundreds of years needs to come to an end. It cannot come to an end if everyone is butting heads against each other. We all have one common goal, and that is equity for all.

My social media pages are flooded with links attached on how to donate and sign petitions. I see negative comments like: “Get over it already” and “None of you cared up until now.” This fuels me with rage. Some are tired of seeing and hearing the same things over and over again, but imagine experiencing these things that you hear and see. That is much more exhausting. This is a time where the people need to be united, which is what the goal was supposed to be in the first place. Instead, America became a country where there is extreme division. This isn’t because of politics or culture. This is because we have systems in place that continue to discriminate and racially profile Black Americans. Our criminal justice system continues the oppression by perpetrating the racism that has existed for hundreds of years.

If you are posting on social media simply because it is a “trendy” topic, stop. Be an ally instead. Reach out to your Black friends, donate money, sign petitions, call state legislatures demanding justice, write letters, attend protests, make phone callsーthe list continues. Do something that is going to help bring justice to the community. During this time it is not enough to be not racist, it is time to be anti-racist. Help bring justice to the Black community that you have profited and benefited off of.

Below I will be attaching three links to numerous pages on books about how to be anti-racist, educational materials that teach you about the Black community, petitions, and donation links. These are not all the resources out there, but these were two that I found during my search to be the most helpful. However, there are many more resources out there that compile more information. We need change in this world. Let’s help ignite it.
#BlackLivesMatter
#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tL9_huJWJ_iekHzK5PShI00u-C25w0jrExhpJpuNHII/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1ZIvDZpHqvNZkf8dGFXVjfk-Wq0Y9FTG410NJbH_8K8M/htmlview