Jordan Davis.
Trayvon Martin.
I am tired. Tired of waking up to news of another unarmed Black teen being shot and killed by a white person. Tired of the killers claiming the "Stand Your Ground" defense. Ti-red. Is is open season on Black people? Does my brown skin automatically make me a suuspect and a criminal? And, if so, there is something inherently wrong with you and your racist way of thinking. This is not ok. Killing people is not ok. Murderers like George Zimmerman, Michael David Dunn, Randall Kerrick, and Theodore Paul Wafer should do the time for their crimes. No one should be able to legally kill unarmed Black people and not go to jail. How is this ok with anyone?
Trayvon was just walking home from the store with a tea and some Skittles. He never made it there. His race made him a suspect in the eyes of his killer. Jordan Davis was just sitting in a car listening to music in the parking lot of a gas station. He was minding his own business. He never made it home because his killer decided to take his life. Jonathan Ferrell survived a horrific car crash only to die at the hands of a white cop who considered him a suspect. REnisha McBride had a car accident, a dead cell phone and was just trying to get home. Another child who did not make it home because her killer decided she shouldn't. None of this is just or moral or legal or right. Why does my skin offend white people so damn much? Does my Blackness really scare them that much? Is there an automatic target placed on our backs? None of them were doing anything wrong or illegal or criminal and they are still dead. There should be nationally outrage about this.
This is how I truly know that the U.S. is not a post-racial country. Also, that term is stupid. Even with a Black President and a Black First Family living in the White House, we are not past race related issues int his country. I've seen and experienced more issues of racism since President Obama began his historic run in 2007. Race will always be in issue in the country which was built on the genocide of one race (Native Americans) and the enslavement of another (African Americans). No, I do not want apologies for slavery or genocide. I want acknowledgement of the messed up history of this country. I want racist to realize that none of us have a choice on our skin tones. The melanin in my skin isn't meant to offend you neither is my pride in it. I am fearful for my 4 brown nephews and 5 brown nieces that this is the world they are growing up in. I am pissed that this is the world we live in. And, more than anything, I am tired, weary and sick of this. It's 2013 and change is needed more than ever. We need a resolution but even more, I think we need a revolution. And, yes, it needs to be televised, tweeted, tumbled and blogged about.
