2020 has been devastating so far. With the global pandemic of coronavirus spreading early March causing us to stay home to the continual racial tension within the country. I have been trying to find ways to cope with my anxiety and the overwhelming fear that resounds.
On the Sunday before Memorial Day, New York Times announced on their front cover that nearly 100,000 people died from the coronavirus. The very next day, George Floyd was unjustly murdered by police in Minneapolis--no more than four months after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. This is a story that has been recounted for decades. There have been countless of African Americans (both men and women, both young and old) that have lost their lives due to police brutality and by the hands of those who are employed to protect the citizens of America. We should not feel unsafe in our own country because of our skin color.
There have been protests all over America demanding for justice. But I believe that not only do we need justice, we desperately need change. In the middle of a pandemic, we should not have to beg to be treated with decency and compassion. We should not have to be wrestling with the aftermath of the oppression our ancestors faced when they fought to win our freedom in 1865. Yet, the sad reality is that racism still exists and it is an evil scheme used to divide and diminish.
Growing up in the predominantly-white suburbia of Cary, North Carolina, I was naïve to the ever-present existence of racism. It felt as though times had changed and we were all kumbaying (remember the movie The Color of Friendship?). And this is not to say that all white people are against African Americans. I have many white friends who are being vocal about the disproportionate hatred we receive. However, it was not until I was older that I first experienced racism, and boy, is it ugly. Since then, I have experienced so many other instances where I was treated unfairly because of my complexion but I try my hardest to not let it get the best of me. Because I know who I am. I am secure in myself.
Yes, I am black.
And I am proud to be black.
And I am beautiful.
And I am a child of God.
However, many African Americans are saying enough is enough. And I resonate with this statement. We are exhausted of having to prove that black lives matter. We are exhausted of reminding people that this nation was built by our enslaved ancestors. We are exhausted of clarifying how we are just as human. This should not have to be explained. This is an inevitable truth: black lives matter.
Although racism is still prevalent in America ("the land of the free"), we have the power to change the narrative. We have the ability to change the trajectory. We, as African Americans, must unite and possess what is rightfully ours. I know the God I serve and He loves us all without partiality. I am trusting that God will bring justice and peace in America: Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him, Isaiah 30:18.
God will have the final say. In the meantime, we need to be praying. We need to be actively helping our communities. We need to be encouraging one another. The time has come for a radical change to take place in this country. The time has come for revolution. The time has come for revival.
Are you ready?
P.S. Please be safe out there. Reach out to me if you need anything: clarissa@clarissaann.com
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