Black Lives Matter.

Words aren’t enough anymore. I know that… I am filled with grief for our world and humanity. I want to be better so I can do better.

After processing what has tragically occurred this week with the death of George Floyd and in the last few months the deaths of Breonna Taylor, and resurfaced death of Ahmaud Aubery that went unnoticed and swept under the rug for months occurred in February being captured on a cell phone. It has got me reflecting and holding myself accountable for attributing to the problem by not talking about the direct impact it has on BIPOC. Actively listening and holding safe space for our brothers and sisters to feel embraced and not fear us too.

A powerful way that I could express gratitude during such a trying and dark time in our country is I may be experiencing OCD and struggle with a mental illness, but one thing I know I will never have the added pain and persecution of being a BIPOC while also struggling with mental illness. I’ll never have to be afraid of showing fundamental parts of who I am. Being a white person of privilege I will never have to be scared of loosing my life or grieve the loss of a loved one because the common denominator was color of skin. I was scared to say anything on this topic because I felt as though it was not my place to speak on such a fragile, intimate, and tragic experience of being a BIPOC in the Unites States. By staying quiet and continuing to go through each day and not addressing what is going on in our country I am contributing to this problem. My level of scared doesn’t even come close to the fear that people of color face every single day and have been since the 1600’s. I want to be part of this change and will continue to educate myself and become more aware of the struggle people of color have had to endure for a lifetime. We are in 2020. As we are painfully reminded that racism is as present and ugly since it first came to light in our country.

Please let them be free.

“It is white people’s responsibility to be less fragile; people of color don’t need to twist themselves into knots trying to navigate us as painlessly as possible.” – White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo