an agenda that is considered violent , as well as anti-cop . The mobilization of people of color , as well as whites in this movement aren ’ t reactions to isolated incidents . There is an ongoing state of emotional turmoil that is unique to the dayto-day inequities of black life that cannot be silenced . Our systems and institutions seek to suppress and suffocate blackness , while reciprocating and protecting whiteness . So why is there so much pushback ?
The realities of living in a society that reduces blackness results in the rampant mistreatment , as well as misunderstanding of our lived experiences as black people . When instances of police violence occur , we often hear the rhetoric that “ black people should be model citizens ,” we “ should be respectable ,” or we “ should have complied ,” among various others . These assertions reinforce the idea that the black community must co-opt behaviors that preserve whiteness and its treasured comfortability . Pervading notions of black criminality suggest that blackness is a natural antithesis to normalcy and respectability . Stereotypes that illustrate black people as criminals have been historically pervasive and used as a means to legitimize terror against our community .
Although the law deems various actions permissible , what is permissible can be antiblack , as well as disproportionate in its application . For those who do not understand and pathologize blackness along with the social movements that advocate its life , the challenge of understanding black death , black mental health in spaces of healing and trauma , and black frustration , steps must be taken to interrogate the workings of privilege and racist stereotypes in our institutions The culture of violence in our country comes with the challenge to question the very systems that deem whiteness normative , and blackness criminal .
As this piece comes to a close , there is so much left unsaid and so much that cannot be put into words . In this journey , we have to understand that there are undoubtedly good cops and that by saying black lives matter , we are not saying the lives of the police don ’ t . We also have to understand that things are not as simple as they may seem . Alton Sterling ’ s death was not just an instance of a resistant black man selling CD ’ s . His death was one of the worst days of his family ’ s life ; his death was another loss for the black community at the hands of an unaccountable nation . Silence instills its own form of violence , and for the folks who claim all lives matter , you should be diligent in speaking up for the lives that are treated as if they don ’ t . As we continue to engage in discourse concerning where do we go from here , I urge you to find your place within this movement . Trauma in the Black community is neglected all too often and spaces to heal must be fostered . I hope this piece sheds light on the rawness and realities of blackness . We are varied . We are multi-layered . And the unfortunate struggle to prove our humanity ensues .