Enough is Enough
My take on the Black Lives Matter Movement in 2020
We can all agree that this year has been one of the hardest years of our lives. Not only have we been going through a global pandemic, but we have also been forced to realize so many of our wrongs as a country. This year brought out a lot of truth’s, a lot of hurt, and a lot of realizations. Despite all of this, I truly believe that this year is what we all needed.
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded back in 2013 in response to Trayvon Martins’ murderer. Since then, you have seen this movement continue to fight for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise, but we have never seen the Black Lives Matter movement the way we did this year…
Nothing was the same after the world was exposed to George Floyd’s disturbing video, where his murderer Derek Chauvin a white police officer knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds until his last breath.
It was clear as day that, George Floyd had been brutally murdered. Nobody could say it didn’t happen, or that George was exaggerating, or that the police officer didn’t know what was happening because the video exposed it all. It was evidence of what Black communities suffer from on the daily, unfortunately it took this video for Black Lives Matter to really get the attention that they always deserved.
This case really woke up the world and showed how police brutality against the black community is an ongoing issue that has been thrown under the rug and ignored year after year. This year the people finally came together for a common cause, for George Floyd, for all the black community that has been oppressed for years. It was like the wake-up call we all needed, we were finally forced to look at each other for what we really were, the racist jokes suddenly weren’t just a joke, and the “n” word wasn’t okay to say just because “you grew up in the hood and that’s how y’all talked”. It almost feels like this moment had been building up for years; and when you build things up for that long they are bound to blow up in your face. In no way am I saying that all polices are bad, but truthfully that’s not the point here. The point is that the whether you want to admit it or not the black community is often profiled by police officers to be a threat because of the color of their skin.
To be totally honest, during this time I had to really reflect on my own actions, and I had to be honest with myself and tell myself that I wasn’t doing enough in regards of standing up for human rights and what I say to believe in. It’s not enough to just say racism is bad, you have to show up, you have to stand up against it, you have to call people out, you have to call yourself out if you want change. Otherwise you’ll just be part of the problem. The reason so many things get by our authorities is because people talk about it for a while then forget that it’s still happening, these things don’t just change from one day to another. We must continue to fight for human rights till all humans are treated equally. All lives won’t matter until Black Lives Matter.
The Black Lives Matter George Floyd Protest in Houston was the first protest I have ever attended, and I can honestly say that it changed so much in me. Seeing this in person was immensely awakening, seeing everyone come together and the amount of people who truly want change gave everyone the hope and power throughout the protest. The experience was like no other, we all wanted justice and we stood up for it. Floyd’s death became the catalyst for protestors, a wave of national protests erupted after this video aired.
These protest’ became worldwide, every day on the news there was a new protest, more people, meaning the conversation was consistent and the world HAD to talk about it. It’s disappointing to say but we wouldn’t have ever talked about it the way we have in 2020, if we didn’t have to. If the conversation wasn’t in our face every day, we would’ve probably continued the same cycle of putting it on the back burner.
Behind all these protests’, Mr. Floyd got the justice he deserved and this whole year was a step to a new beginning. We can’t continue to ignore this; we can’t keep saying people are equal without showing them that they are. Nobody has the right answer on how to go about these kinds of things, and yes talking about it is a great first step but taking actions is the only way we can really create a change. This conversation can’t keep being an uncomfortable one, we must say what we feel without it becoming an argument, we need to make it where everyone can voice their opinion about things that matter so that we can create solutions. We need to stop being so ugly to each other, and I know it may be a stretch and a little corny to say but the world needs more empathy. Separating us is what so many people want, because together we can truly can be the change. This year has proved that, we’ve seen it with these protest’! So many injustices get by just because people simply don’t say anything, they don’t stand up together for them and this needs to stop happening.
2020 has undoubtedly been a challenging year for all, but maybe that’s precisely what was necessary for us to finally wake up and reset our belief’s.
I can only hope that this year can change the way we treat each other and perhaps we can start to empathize instead of jumping into judgement.
Be self-aware, be the change you want to see, and start listening.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
