the reality of being Black.

            How did we get here? How did a slight difference in complexion result in insurmountable injustices, years of hatred, reduced opportunity, division, slavery, inferiority, and lessened worth? All due to an irreversible, permanent, most so beautiful pigment? Our ability to see color is a blessing and it is also the simplest, most noticeable human observation we can ever make. Color is the characteristic of visual perception, a quality seen only when we use our sight. Race, a socially constructed ideal, has divided mankind, granting those of lighter complexions to walk with and in their privilege, leaving many that differ in appearance to exist as an oppressed people.

We can't breathe

           "I can't breathe." Those were the last three words uttered by George Floyd, the 46-year-old African American man murdered on what was a normal late afternoon, Monday, May 25, 2020. George Floyd died pleading for one last breath as police officer Derek Chauvin, a white American male, buried his knee into Floyd's neck, suffocating him to death by defiantly refusing to grant him one final breath. For eight minutes and forty-six seconds Derek Chauvin had George Floyd pinned to the ground, his knee on Floyd's neck, while bystanders watched in horror, and three of Derek's coworkers did absolutely nothing to de-escalate the situation. George Floyd died at the scene.

This is a Black and White Issue

           "How does it feel to be a problem?" (Okantah 411). In the journal article titled, "In Search of the Real Brother Man: An African Centered Approach to Black Cultural Identity," American poet, essayist, professor and vocalist Mwatabu Okantah depicts the reality of being a black person in America. The color of a man's skin, a factor that cannot be changed nor chosen, is often the cause of the many injustices experienced by people of color in the United States. The brutal murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black male, by police officer Derek Chauvin, a white American male, is just one example of the racial injustices that continually take place in America. One's skin complexion should not pose a threat to others, yet in America a number of injustices and racial biases are rooted in the underlying fact that white is preferred, white is less intimidating, white is superior because white equals privilege. Okantah argued that black people in America are presented with two options, be black or be an American, hinting that these two ideas cannot coexist. Systemic racism and the notation that white is superior is evident in the vast wage gaps between people of color and their white counterparts, the lack of job opportunities for the black community, the lack of access to bank loans and quality education for black individuals, the differing house sizes and location of predominantly black and predominantly white communities, and the disproportionate number of police brutality cases impacting the black community. Racism is embedded in America's foundation and efforts must be made to eradicate feelings of superiority or inferiority based on one's race. Black people should not be tasked to choose between their blackness or Americanness; these two ideas must simply coexist.

The most uncomfortable conversation EVER

           Conversations about race are uncomfortable and often the most difficult to have, but they are also the most necessary conversation; a conversation white people in America often get to bypass. The injustice that took place on May 25, 2020 simply boils down to Floyd's melanated complexion and is just one of many sad narratives. Why is it that race determines freedom? After committing an armed robbery, Lamar Loyd, a black male, was sentenced to 26 years in prison. However, for the same crime, Chase Legleitner, a white male, was only sentenced to two years in county jail. Legleitner's complexion grants him privileges Loyd will never have access to; therefore, after committing the exact same crime, and after being convicted by the same judge, the two men walked away with completely different sentences.

We cannot control our race.

          It is so unfair to punish individuals for a factor that is so out of their control. Every day people are reduced and identified solely because of the color of their skin. The greatest amount of racial tension resides between blacks and whites, especially black and white people living in America. The origin of this tension dates back to the 1600s, when racist ideas were brought to America and Europeans deemed it necessary to categorize humans beyond their ethnicity or country of origin. The word Caucasian was coined to further separate humanity into neat distinct groups. Henry the Navigator, Uncle of the King of Portugal, was the first documented individual to articulate racist ideas, giving characteristics to those he enslaved and deeming those people as inferior. He defined blackness, and by doing so, justified his actions of enslavement (how disgusting).

Time for Change

            The heaviness people feel over the tragic passing of George Floyd indicates it is time for a change. We want, need, and are now more than ever, willing to seek change. Black Americans want to be recognized as human beings. Humans that have freedom, rights, and opportunities equal to their white Americans. We desire to be treated fairly by the police and do not want to fear being pulled over by the police or fear death due to undergoing a police confrontation. We do not want to be seen as "less than" for the color of our skin.

          Black is American. We have a right to exist and breathe on American soil. So we will protest until we are fully seen, recognized, and treated as human beings by those with privilege and by those with the power to ensure necessary legislative change.  

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         So how did we get here? How are we having the biggest American civil rights movement since the 1960s in 2020? Because change, the change we should all want, the change this nation so desperately needs, is supposed to happen right now.

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*edits have been made from original