To Be Black In America

Dear Black people, are y'all alright? No you're not, and that's okay. 

Lets talk about it...

After my first blog post, I told myself that I wouldn't focus on the atrocities occurring in this world. However, It would be remiss of me not to discuss the recent Buffalo, NY shooting. On May 14th, 2022, a domestic terrorist and white extremist by the name of Payton Gendron, entered a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood with intentions to murder Black folk. He fatally shot and killed 10 people. I don't care to discuss him, his manifesto, or his troubled behavior prior to this event. I'm here to hold space for us. 

Immediately after hearing the news, I reached out to family and some of my closest friends in light of this immensely tragic event. The collective sentiment was fear, following sadness and uncertainty. These feelings are all too familiar, and as Black people we share a particular collective experiential trauma that comes along with having a certain hue. Collective trauma happens when a group of people have a shared emotional response as a result of a traumatic event. Collectively we have been abused, misused, traumatized, dehumanized, discriminated against, systemically slighted, criminalized, and disproportionally targeted to say the least. We have been marching, protesting, boycotting, and begging and pleading for centuries, and we have been simply asking to be seen as humans and treated as such. 

In light of the recent passing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, Black people are still being lynched by another name. That name being White Supremacy and its agenda to dominate society by any means. I won't go into a history lesson about White Supremacy and how its has played a major part in operationalizing the continual pursuit to oppress and harm Black bodies. However, I implore you to do your own research in order to understand, innerstand, and overstand its implications concerning Black peoples' wellbeing. 

I know that you're tired, hurt, fearful, angry, confused, and probably at a loss in this present moment. So, here's what I want you to do: take some mental health days from work. Utilize colleague resource groups (CRG) while at work. Rest. Reset. And rest again. Meditate. Congregate with other Black people for support. Practice Yoga. Journal. Explore spirituality. Do whatever it is that will bring you peace and comfort in this moment. 

However, I know that these things do not address the issue at hand. So, I will end with this:

Beloved writer and activist James Baldwin once said,

"to be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all of the time."

That sentiment echoes through for me and probably many of you reading this. The pressing question is, what's next? 

Image posted by the NAACP via their Instagram

Remember Their Names: Roberta A. Drury, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackneil, Aaron Salter, Geraldine Talley, Celestine Chaney, Heyward Patterson, Katherine Massey, Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield. 

-Andrea Nicole