Happy Sunday my Lovelies!
My heart is heavy today as are many, many others. We all know of the travesty and miscarriage of justice that occurred on last night and for the sake of my poor eyes, swollen from crying, I won’t rehash every horrible detail or the trial in its entirety. But it is time that I say those things and put into words the sentiment that I know is shared among us all.
What has happened in the last few weeks has negated all the years of moving forward that we thought we had made. The Supreme Court struck down the most important parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, asserting that our country has come so far that racism is no longer an issue, especially in the South. Lies and untruths! Racism is still as active and alive as it was during Jim Crow, it just isn’t as overt as it used to be. Those bigots that discriminated against and mistreated minorities during Jim Crow had children and some of them unfortunately were raised with and embraced the hateful rhetoric of their parents. They in turn had children and the cycle continues unabated. Not everyone raised under this oppressive and bigoted environment accepted this hateful stance on others as the gospel and forged knowledge of their own.
Nonetheless, I can attest that even at my young age I have been discriminated against,. I’ve been called a nigger to my face during my freshman year of college at a well-known and respected university in College Station, TX. I’ve been pulled over at night driving through the back streets to my house just because I’m Black in a non-minority-based neighborhood. I’ve been in a store in a predominantly white neighborhood and had someone assume that I worked there rather than being there to shop like them.
*So it went that a woman came up to me and said, “Can you get me this (pushing a blouse at me) in a bigger size?” I nicely and promptly informed her that I didn’t work at the store and she blinked at me in disbelief with her face turned up and stammered, “Oh… I just assumed…”. I said nothing, smiled, and walked away. In my car, I just sat contemplating the fact that there are still those who believe that someone who looks like me should be automatically assumed to be “the help” and in a position of servitude. *
It wasn’t so long ago that James Byrd, Jr. Was dragged to death in Jasper, TX by a group of white supremacists. Treyvon Martin was targeted and murdered simply for being young, Black, and in a predominantly white neighborhood. Nine (9) southern states can change their voting laws, including the ability to enact voter ID requirements, without being subject to federal oversight. We have retarded our progress forward and toward equality. I am fearful not only for our youth, and our children but also us as adults. It is a liability to be who and what God created me to be. Meditate on that.
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T. Nicole's Graham Cracker Crumbs 
The Fallacy and Fairytale of Security in America
No where is safe when you look like me
There’s no safety in our homes, ask Botham Jean and Breonna Taylor
No safety in our cars, ask Philando Castille
No safety at the corner store; We’re followed and watched, criminalized based on the hue of our skin
No safety in well-lit places
No safety in broad daylight; ask George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery
No safety when peacefully protesting
No safety when the cameras are recording; they laugh and yell and taunt
Never any safety in the dark
No safety can even be found within our own skin
When we attempt to create safe spaces we lull ourselves into a false sense of security as those spaces are invaded, violated and stolen right before our eyes
Even in my meditation where there is only me… there is no safety to be found, no matter the attempt at mindfulness.
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Posted by grahamcrackercrumbs09 on November 19, 2021 in Grinds My Gears, Social Commentary
Tags: Black Lives, Black Lives Matter, Life, racism, Random Thoughts, Reflections, Social, Social Commentary, Social Justice