On George Floyd

6/9/20

If you post a black screen on Tuesday and turn a blind eye to the suffering of your black brothers and sisters every other day of the week, I mean this in the most kind way possible when I say that you disappoint me.

If you are more upset by the riots than the injustice and murder, I mean this in the most kind way possible when I say that you disappoint me.

If you cannot sympathize with the centuries of mistreatment felt by generation after generation of people of color, I mean this in the most kind way possible when I say that you disappoint me.

If you cannot see that people are hurt, that this is not just because of one life lost, that we have felt this pain ever since shackles were placed on our hands and feet, I mean this in the most kind way possible when I say that you disappoint me.

This is not just because of George Floyd. This is because of Nat Turner. This is because of Emmett Till. This is because of the four little girls in Birmingham. This is because of Michael Brown. This is because of Breonna Taylor. This is because of the six bullets in Stephon Clark’s back.

This is what happens when you place pain into the kettles of our minds and turn the fire on high. People are angry. And if your grandmother had marched with Dr. King to fight against the same hatred that we see today, you’d be angry too.

So I’m asking you to support your black brothers and sisters every single day of the week. Educate and demonstrate and donate. Love, love, love. Because at the end of the day, this is not a political issue. This is simply a human rights issue.

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Written By Kennedy Kelis