“All Lives
Matter!” Misogynists and racists are all about inclusiveness, until systematic
oppression is rightfully blamed on them. “Not all men!” they’ll cry. With an
increasingly active and visible movement, people are quick to point out to
activists and advocates that slavery was so long ago and to stop whining. “The
Civil Rights Movement was 50 years ago, right?”
The reality is
that white people did not care about living Martin Luther King Jr. They like to
quote him mercilessly to shame Black Lives Matter and other activists doing the
good work on the streets. After King was murdered at the hands of the U.S. government, white people think he
died for their sins. “Turn the other cheek,” they say.
If black lives
truly did matter, Obama’s citizenship and religion wouldn’t have been brought
into question by Americans. If black lives truly did matter, googling “Obama racist”
wouldn’t come up with search results about how Michelle and Barack Obama are
“anti-white.” If black lives truly did matter, Dr. Dre, a celebrity multi-millionaire,
wouldn’t be arrested for calling the police. If black lives truly did matter,
the Supreme Court would not have gutted the Voting Rights Act, an act that activists who marched from Selma, demanded. If black lives
truly did matter, Flint’s water would be clean after months of
media coverage and public outrage. If black lives truly did matter, unarmed
black citizens wouldn’t be killed by the police. If black lives
truly did matter, Black Lives Matter would not be needed. If all lives
mattered, black lives would matter.
Protesters and activists blocking the I-15, a major
highway in San Diego, California
We
must unite and act in solidarity together. Black lives don’t matter, so we need
to fight to make sure that they do. As Geneva Reed-Veal, Sandra Bland’s mother,
said:
“I’m not angry
enough to create a riot where I burn things down, but I will create a riot, I
will set off so that people will understand that this is real. Movements move.
Activists activate. We have got to stop talking and move. So I leave you with
this: it is time to wake up, get up, step up, or shut up.”
Together, we can be movers and
shakers. Working together is the oppressor’s worst fear. Together, we can build
a world that is safe and free to be yourself and love.
If the Civil Rights Movement taught us
anything, it is that demanding for peace and equality will only fall on deaf
ears. We will not stand for concessions that can easily be repealed. We will
not settle for what the government can afford to give us. The government works
for us. We cannot be ignored and we cannot be intimidated if we stand together.
We will define what the government must give us. We will ensure that we have
peace and safety. Black lives matter. People are being murdered. What are we
going to do about it?
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