Page 28 - Florida Sentinel 6-12-20

Black Lives Matter
The Power Of Being Black
BY KOURTNEY PINA
When addressing the is- sues of being Black in America we must first break into a his- tory that you will not find in the history books. Not all of us have the ability to sit in a living room or on a porch and dis- cuss with our ancestors what slavery was like. However, I can assure you that it is a time period in which none us wish to have ever been apart of.
We sit in classrooms in schools that honestly speaking only touch on the topic during the month of February. Learn- ing the history re-written in books through the lenses of white men taught primarily by white women. Never any true history capturing the realism of the racism endured by those that lived during that time. Never any letters present in there from actual slaves. Never any artifacts in our museums from that time period repre- senting Black slaves. Never the truest form of testimony by those that endured the strug- gle. So now we live in a world where even our history has been taken, owned and nar- rated by that of white privi- lege.
Anti-Black racism is still a huge issue in America. We look outside here in 2020 at our streets filled with protes- tors and activists years later still fighting for the same nar- rative to change. What we see today is not a moment but A MOVEMENT. Movements cause change.
We have watched far too many of our brothers and sis- ters being brutally murdered at the hands of a system de- signed to work against us. We live in a country that hands us nothing but continued oppres- sion. We are not fighting just against police brutality, we are fighting against systemic in- justice and inequalities. We are fighting against structural inequalities. We are fighting social class inequalities. This movement is bigger than a march for justice on some po- lice officers. This Movement is going to change the way our children live their lives.
This is bigger than police brutality. This is about sys- temic change that needs to happen in every facet of our lives. Not tweaked and then forcing us to maneuver through life. The system needs to change and it needs to be built around equality and not
on racism as it sits now. It needs to come from those we elect to represent us in our communities that are for sys- temic change and REBUILD- ING the entire system. It starts with electing those that desire and have worked to progress forward with that.
To be Black in America today means that you have to have conversations with your sons about what not to do while in the presence of police officers to just try and stay alive to see another day. To call me on FaceTime so I can be a witness. To call 911 as soon as you get pulled over and make sure you are in a well lit area. Try and pull over where people are around if you need witnesses. Move slowly and just comply even if you didn’t do anything. Having to tell our daughters that no mat- ter what the world says you are and always will be a BLACK QUEEN.
Being Black in America today means our culture is one that derives from our struggles and the beauty in our ability to prevail is being embraced when convenient.
There is so much fear in the power of being Black. The Fear of influence over their very own kind that no longer share the same views. Fear that the courtrooms will no longer have our names on the dockets, but on the courtroom doors. Fear our cites will be in- tegrated with theirs. The fear our Black Kings showing up to their house when they need help and to protect and serve. The fear of our Black politi- cians voting next to them in favor of reform.
You can go into a stadium on a Sunday and you will see more that 70% of the jerseys being worn have a Black man’s name on them. They purchase court side tickets and cheer on our Black men in hopes to get a little closer to their idols. Wake up on Saturdays at 5am to stand in lines to purchase sneakers with a Black man’s name on them. Yet they have such a hard time speaking up to our injustices and inequali- ties. Such a hard time recog- nizing that the system is broken for Black people. You can not embrace pieces of our culture for entertainment.
Our skin color is not what is actually feared though. It’s the power and influence be- hind and underneath our skin color. The power in being
Black to prevail after 400 years of oppression to over- come and still grow and rise to the occasion. The power be- hind being Black came solely from them oppressing us for so long and still systemically doing so. The curses of oppres- sion are breaking and what is to come is far greater than anything that they can imagine right now. Everything we are going through has been prewritten in the Bible and the curse of 400 years of oppres- sion are ending. Racism is a spirit and we are in the middle of a spiritual warfare.
The movement you are witnessing now is worldwide and backed by that of God and he will prevail in all of this. The movement you are wit- nessing is because we are sick and tired of watching an entire system fail us everyday in every aspect of our lives. This movement stems from lynch- ings, rapes, water hosing, and hangings. From Black Wall Street being burnt down be-
cause of the fear of rising Black people. From marches that produced only slight change to appease the oppressed. We are not the same oppressed Black
people staying silent.
There is so much Power in
Being Black today in America and We have a VOICE and we will be HEARD.
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 13-A