Hi Hi hello, welcome to the second "official" instalment of this blog. Hope you’re all well, I know we’re really in like Week 9 or 10 or 11 of this Quarantine thing Idek. We’ll be out of it soon dw, I know it’s all long rn but you’ve got this🏃🏾♂️ Tbh I didn't expect to be coming out with another post so soon after the last one but here we are. I'm even tryna keep this introduction short and sweet, you already know the drill anyway. I actually had a completely different vision for what post number 2 would be based on but I had to stop off quickly and make a few points on the state of this society and everything going on rn. So just allow me whilst I open up about my own experiences, thoughts and ideas😊
Okay so, lemme just say from the jump that I’m about to take a super direct and blunt approach to this topic. I didn’t plan this beforehand but I felt like I would be doing myself a disservice if I wasn’t honest about my feelings on this. It would’ve been silly not to comment on the unfortunate passing of George Floyd and the chaos that has ensued in both the political sphere and social media as a whole. Anyway, my point is, I don’t believe in diluting words that need to be spoken and words that need to be heard. Martin Luther King didn’t say ‘oh rah maybe that’s a bit too sharp still let me change this and this, gotta accommodate for my audience ygm’ and neither will I. The aim of this is to genuinely be raw and unfiltered, if it triggers you in any way then all I can say is sorry init. If you feel personally attacked then it’s probs because I’m attacking you☺️
Okay so, I like to provide a backstory before going into my analysis and my key ‘take-home messages’ so yeah let’s get it.
When I think about the term “race”, I see it as one of the most divisive, polarising, controversial and problematic words in the English lexicon. (I mean race as in the social categorisation of human beings not race as in the competition to see who finishes first, just in case that wasn’t clear because I know some of you like to play some silly silly games smh). When I think about the black race, I think of a group of people that are comprised of the most vibrant cultures, a race blessed with soul, beauty and creativity. But, I also think of a group of people that have historically suffered as a result of inequality, greed and evil. A race of people that are statistically disadvantaged from the moment they take their first breaths. A race that has been tormented and tortured consistently since, well, Idk, since the very first white man set foot on African soil I guess🤧
One of my biggestttt flexes to date (and something that I am eternally grateful to God for) is that I have never felt uncertain or unconfident about my black identity. My parents made it a priority to make me proud of my Sierra Leonean heritage and of the colour of my skin. They wanted to make sure that I never wavered on that, despite the fact that they knew it could’ve been easy to as a result of experiences in school, work, university and just life in general.
I can list hundreds of times where I could’ve quite easily begun to feel insecure. Perhaps it were the times when I was asked: “Why are you so white?”, “Why don’t you act black?”, “Why aren’t you like everyone else that looks like you?” because I was quiet and timid, polite, well-spoken and well-informed. It also probably didn’t help that I had a white surname (ironically a name that I didn’t choose and was actually given to my lineage as a result of slavery). I didn’t fall into the stereotype that is given to the typical black male but I soon found that in itself could make me a target. What has always interested me about this is that it showed that there was an expectation that I wouldn’t or couldn‘t have the good traits that I listed. I was supposed to be loud, boisterous, ill-mannered, aggressive, hot-tempered, difficult, animated, even rude perhaps. A troublemaker at best. A criminal at worst.
It took me a while to learn this, but it’s either a case of being “too black” and being chastised for having these unpleasant traits, listening to too much rap music and being well-versed in slang OR you’re “too white”. We all know black people aren’t supposed to have positive traits other than great physical attributes that make them good at athletics and sports right? I wanted to have a reputation for being an exceptional human being, someone that was kind and humble, polite and patient, slow to anger and intelligent, but I had it thrown in my face and told that those things make me white??? I had my black identity QUESTIONED for being a good person? Am I a mug?? This is the unfortunate and unforgiving paradox of the black man.
Maybe it was the times that it was assumed that I had Ebola because my parents were born in a country where it was rampant during its peak (ironically discounting the fact that they’ve lived in the West since like age 20). Maybe it was the micro-aggressions that seemed innocent and harmless, such as the beloved hair touching. Maybe the times I were walking home and heard monkey chants in my direction. Oh yeah loool bruh can’t forget the whole ‘N’-word thing. How could I even forget? Or perhaps the jokes made about erm idk lacking electricity? Lacking clean clothes? Lacking clean water? Lacking food? Lacking a real house??? I’ve probs even missed some tbh.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m defo not trying to create a sob story here, this is not a pity party and even if it was it would be a pretty dead one. In fact, if you’re black and reading this you are probably familiar with AT LEAST three of those examples. To me, that is the saddest element of all this, the fact that I can speak to black people that have lived in the North, Midlands and South (as well as Ireland ofc) and ALL of them will have had similar experiences. Personally (and this is my honest honest honesttttt opinion), that is genuinely a shambles. What kind of society do we live in? A world in which countless black people can lose their lives unfairly and wrongly (see #ArmaudArbery #EricGarner #TrayvonMartin #MichaelBrown etc etc etc). A world where I can relate with people on racial injustices? What??? We are rapidly approaching the 57-year anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech uno. FIFTY-SEVENTH💀 Yet still I can relate with people on being called the N-word? In 2020? In big big United Kingdom? Bruh. For the second time, am I a mug? Nahhhh you’re mocking it stillllll.
Anyway, onto whatever is happening atm. George Floyd was killed (yes killed) on May 25, 2020. The earliest memory that I have of police brutality is the death of Trayvon Martin. A 17-year-old going to the shop to buy a bag of Skittles. At that time, I was around 11/12 years old. I remember being too young to have a complete understanding of what was happening, but old enough to recognise that something was going down. Well. I’m now 20. Twenty. As in 8 years have passed, my whole teenage life in fact. I’m not even tryna be annoying but do the maths on that, please. EIGHT YEARS. Since then, in the space of eight years, what has changed?
I can’t lie, my eyes watered when I saw people in the streets of Peckham screaming #BlackLivesMatter from the depths of their lungs. I couldn’t help but think about how they‘d be protesting maybe 20 minutes away from where I spent the first 5 years of my life. My heart was heavy as I was thinking how tragic it is that even in this day and age, people are still in a place where they feel the need to take to the streets to vent their anger in an attempt to combat racial inequality. This is still happening today because there is currently little to no demand to place an equal value on the lives of black individuals from the people that have the power to.
Let’s be honest, it’s normal for black people to die. Sorry, but it’s the truth. It’s everywhere. Look at music, gangsta rap is huge, drill is huge, we love it, we listen to it, we back it with our chests. But think about it this way, no song that glorifies rape or Islamophobia or any sort of extremist view would be played on radio. It won’t happen. C’est impossible. Those are major social issues that are not taken lightly right? Rick Ross’ Reebok deal was literally cancelled because of his controversial lyrics. But yet it’s the norm for Bobby Shmurda or 6ix9ine or Pop Smoke songs to go viral, all of which glorify the killing of black men. I’m not saying these artists are evil, neither am I telling you to cancel them, I’m just shedding light on something I see. We’re okay with gang violence in rap, but averse to any other global matter of contention. To me, this again is a societal problem that doesn’t get the attention it needs but should be urgently addressed. I want to bring light on it. We are desensitised (see Coronavirus) to black death, that’s why we let it happen. It’s why we keep quiet on it and even I am / have been guilty of it too.
The world that we live in is comfortable with the realities of police brutality, unbothered by the fact that black people are disproportionately affected by the ugly nature of society and in denial about the fact that almost no progress has been made since the Civil Rights Movement. That’s why we are STILL here years and years on. I’m going to put some statistics down at the end that you can look at yourself btw, hopefully, that will put what I’m saying now into perspective.
Side note: #AllLivesMatter is a redundant strategy again used to dilute what is actually important. The example that I always give is that you wouldn’t break your leg and go to the hospital and expect your doctor to tell you that every part of your body matters. You’d seriously question your doctor’s lack of urgency in addressing an area that is the most in need of attention, especially if the rest of your body were healthy. Likewise, you wouldn’t attend a Breast Cancer charity fair and feel the need to announce that all sicknesses matter. If you do / did, you’re mad. Thus, it is important to recognise that highlighting #BlackLivesMatter is NOT a form of exclusion, neither is it an attempt to be superior. Identify the reasons why something like #BLM would be necessary, rather than inadvertently making us question our own truths. If anything, #AllLivesMatter is yet another example of people comfortable in their privilege and in denial about how the lives of one race are in a more desperate need of attention and support.
Nonetheless, I’m staring down the barrels of a society stuck in its ways, refusing to accept a problem that has plagued us (as in all of us, white, black, pink, red, whatever, idc) for decades. Personally, I’ve never believed in black people blaming all white people for all our problems. It’s wrong to belittle every single Caucasian that ever existed. Jack Fowler from Love Island is not going to solve the problem. Neither is your next-door neighbour that sunbathes in February. There are things we can do better ourselves too. I mentioned before the perils of our music. We also have a higher divorce rate, a higher rate of unplanned pregnancies, a higher percentage of single mothers, greater drug use, a lack of ownership for the things that we create and produce. These are things that we can and should address within our community. But, in saying that, it’s difficult to overlook the fact that we live in a world that has been ruled by the white man. Racism didn’t start yesterday, or on the day of George Floyd’s death, neither is it as simple as calling someone on the street a gollywog. No, racism is based on intrinsic, institutional, systematic and historic oppression; a method of separation and distinction designed to place white people higher on the social ladder as a result of their skin colour (thus disproving the whole reverse racism nonsense because the last time I checked, white people were never oppressed, but that’s another convo).
At this point, lemme just say if you’re triggered by this, ask yourself why. It’s probably because you..:
a) are choosing to ignore centuries of a combination of imperialism, colonialism, slavery, segregation and apartheid in order to make yourself a victim or
b) have a very simplistic and misinformed understanding of what racism actually is (in which case read about it or something idk) or
c) do not fully understand the level of privilege that white people have (in which case, once again, read a book or something idk man it’s quarantine, use this time wisely)
I understand why people are scathing rn, but rioting, looting and burning down small businesses do not solve the problem either and it’s sad to see opportunistic people profit from public anger in order to steal a TV or a Rolex or some Jordans or something. I really don’t like seeing people destroying their very own communities, these are areas where the youth of today are growing up, they shouldn’t have to see all this, but maybe that’s the geography in me coming out. However, I actually think that everyone should be making strides to identify and call out racism when they can (and I wish I did a lot more when I was younger). The first step is white people (and I recognise not necessarily every single one) need to actually recognise and accept the privilege they have and not live in denial of what is the reality. Think back to the examples that I provided before and ask yourself if you would want that treatment for yourself or perhaps even your children (based completely on a characteristic that they cannot control). Reflect on why you are willing to stay silent on matters of injustice and why you don’t value a black person’s life the same way you would anyone else’s. Next, let’s invest more of our energy into signing petitions, making donations, supporting useful campaigns and contacting governing and legislative officials. This might not provide the immediate response we all want, but we need to start thinking long-term, this issue is a marathon, not a sprint.
I want to see change, as in genuine reformation and not the same methods that end up in more violence and ultimately police brutality. I’m conscious that I don’t want to be yet anotherrr black person angry and hurt about yet anotherrr unfair killing of yet anotherrr young black person by yet anotherrr police officer. But, I do want to do my bit and attempt to be the change I want to see. My favourite quote to this day, from the wonderful Desmond Tutu, reads: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor, if an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Ultimately, I am NOT neutral and you shouldn’t be either. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I am blessed to have a platform such as this that I can use to speak my mind and (hopefully) positively influence and inspire you. This is honestly me talking to you. I am addressing you. I am telling you (even tho I’m sure ur aware) that we live in a society that does not, has not and at this rate will never view black people as complete equals, let alone favour them and I want you to think about what you’ll do to fix that. At the time of writing, Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter. Cool, but George Zimmerman (the officer that killed Trayvon Martin some 3000 days ago) was acquitted of all charges and found not guilty. How do we know that justice will be served this time? I want to see tougher consequences for these officers and a complete change in the psyche of those that are more advantaged in order to prevent this happening AGAIN. This is a problem deep-rooted within the fabrics of our civilisation, it’s going to take a complete shift of a mindset that has been set in stone for too long, not just the imprisonment of a few officers.
The death of George Floyd on May 25, for me, serves as a macabre and disturbing microcosm of the society we live in today. The parallels I can draw literally disgust me. The black man gasping for life, wanting to be set free, already down and out but still suffocated and restricted by the weight of an oppressive white system that sees no wrong in the lives that it’s ruining. One day, someone, somewhere will look back at the date ‘May 25 2020’ with disgust, disdain, horror and embarrassment but grateful that similar events do not happen anymore (in the same way we look at the Holocaust); my only hope and prayer is that day comes sooner rather than later.
Black people are 7 (SEVEN) times more likely than white people to be wrongly convicted of murder
Black skilled workers are paid 23% less than white people with the same degrees
African Americans receive sentences that are 19% longer than their white counterparts for the same crimes
Black people are 4 times more likely to die of Coronavirus than white people
Black people who leave school with A-Levels are paid 14% less than their white peers
Black children are 3 times more likely to be excluded from school
The percentage of race-related hate crimes have risen by 37% since 2018
37% of black people (and 45% of Asian people) felt unsafe in their neighbourhoods, compared to 29% of white people
African Americans make up 13% of the US population, but 37% of the US prison population
That is all.
God bless.
Until next time👋🏾