Salutations souls. We are only a week into Black History Month and it’s already been hijacked by a big white, nefarious…ballon. It’s seems like something white is always vying to overshadow and oversee our celebrations. Ominously hovering above – invading privacy and recording the actions of people it feels threatened by. If the balloon had been black, it would have been shot down the minute Sarah Palin spotted it in Alaska, then beaten and left without rescue or recovery. It’s been a weird month already and we haven’t even crossed paths with Cupid yet. From being considered property to being considered actual people, Black people continue to make strides in an ethos of inequality. We will achieve equality eventually, however, as articulated by previous generations, “Like, man, I’m tired of waiting.”
We find ourselves honoring Black people who created a path for equality, when it seemed absolutely impossible. We find ourselves mourning and honoring the life of Tyre Nichols. We find ourselves honoring the monumental progress Black people have achieved since our ancestors were kidnapped from the motherland, while honoring the pain of RowVaughn Nichols, the mother of Tyre Nichols. This is where we find ourselves, honoring progress while honoring pain.
We find ourselves on this Black History Month, bearing witness to Black police officers beating a 29-year-old Black man to his death. The funeral for Tyre Nichols punctuated the requirement for every soul in this nation to demand that laws change. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act must pass, our equality can no longer be up for negotiation. Equality can no longer be put on hold or slow rolled. No longer can the grievance of white supremacy, supersede the grief of Black mothers. This Black History Month, we see the College Board altering Black history, for a proposed AP African American history course, by erasing certain Black leaders, scholars, and writers from the curriculum. Honoring history is teaching history.
The wool of white supremacy pulled over our kids eyes, will turn into a hood of hate.
