Yes. All lives matter. That means black lives matter just as much. Their lives are the ones being repeatedly threatened. When a house is on fire, is it right to say that all houses matter and we should be spraying all houses and not just the one? The answer is obvious.
I have cops, soldiers, and firemen as ancestors. Their sacrifices are not meaningless because I’ve decided to stand with the long neglected POC and say that enough is enough. In fact, my history makes it doubly important for me to choose where I stand. A statue is not a human life. A building is not a human life. I would rather see everything burn than lose another human life to systematic racism and cruelty. Our country was built on the backs of POC, and they’ve had to fight for every breath they’ve taken because apparently breath is not free in this free country.
The worth of a society is determined by how its least privileged are treated. If we’re the wealthiest and freest country, this bar should not be so difficult to cross. However, it is and I and millions of others are severely disappointed.
If you want info on how to help, here’s an article suggesting how: https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-for-black-lives-matter.html
Racial justice funds: https://t.co/YxNBnazQXl
Protestor bail funds: https://t.co/h8E3ycxzU2
NYmag places to donate list: https://t.co/2QTLpTEJoD
Here’s an Instagram post by lifebyesther on creators to follow: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBGdfFIgVdC/?igshid=1rftawueltang
Get more personal. Buy the book Open Season by Ben Crump. He details the racial injustices and systematic violence of our own system and is representing George Floyd’s family. Watch and read Just Mercy, and The Hate U Give. Read books like Monday’s Not Coming. The black experience isn’t limited to the history books. POC have a past, but they also have a present. They have a future, and we need to recognize that.
Do yourself a favor and go follow BowtiesandBooks on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. They’re a wonderful person and a wonderful source of love and openness and pride during these times.
It wouldn’t be pride month if we didn’t have a fucking riot demanding our basic human rights, now would it? With that in mind, here’s another link to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute: https://marshap.org/
Without black trans women, we would not even have pride month. So for my last note, I say fuck J.K. Rowling and her TERF ways. Goodnight and good luck.
Rowan Liddell 