Hey Chatters,
I know its been a while since we’ve chatted, I have had a lot going on but I am back! So you can guess what today’s topic is after reading the title. If not today I want to talk about the Black Lives Matter Movement and why is has been so significant recently.
For a few weeks now there has been a trending picture on Instagram with a graduation robe laid over an empty seat in honor of a student that was killed. Bowie State University honored the loss of Richard Collins III, a 23-year-old student that was recognized as a U.S. Army lieutenant. Somewhat ironic because he was killed in the country he was sworn to protect by a civilian he would have died to protect. Collins was stabbed to death by Sean Christopher Urbanski, while waiting for his Uber to arrive on May 20th, three days before his graduation.
Before Collins it was 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, who was shot and killed by police officer Roy Oliver in Balch Springs, Texas. On April 29, Edwards a freshman in high school was coming home from a party when Oliver shot through the passenger window.
The list goes on and on, sadly. These two unjust killings are one in the same, both boys were said to have good character, good students in school, and were not portrayed as “thugs.” Like we’ve seen in the past, some will justify the killing of innocent black males because of they were labeled as “thugs”. If you feel that justifying these recent killings is the right thing to do then you are part of the problem.
These recent killings of African Americans, as some of you may know has created an uproar not only among African Americans but also people apart of other ethnic and racial groups. In the midst of this uproar a movement was created the Black Lives Matter Movement. The movement was labeled as controversial because of its name. Many argued that BLM excluded other minorities that deal with the same issues. However the many people behind this argument did not identify with any minority group at all, in fact they are part of the majority. After the killing of Collins and Edwards I took a step back to evaluate BLM and its significance. This movement’s purpose was not to make people angry and exclude people it was a call for help.
The BLM Movement was a response from African Americans, telling the nation to look we matter. Although slavery has been over, for years blacks have been considered as being second class and having to work twice as hard to only get half as much. BLM in its prime made the Nation stop and take a second look at things. Some may say BLM has developed a protest culture in the United States but is that a problem? A place where individuals are inclined to freedom of speech, yet when exercising this right they are accused of always playing the victim.
I make these statements because I am tired.
Tired of seeing the same things on the News.
Tired of the apologies.
Tired of the fake remarks.
Tired of people not caring.
Tired of it all.
I am simply TIRED.
Sincerely,
Mizani Ball
