While the nation is grieving the loss of life in general…..the only news that you hear are about the lives and the families of the officers. But what about the lives and the families of the slain Alton Sterling and Philando Castile? Why are they not televising their families, the communities that they leave behind and their good works? Why are their deaths in the shadows of the police officers?

This again is proof that the value of our lives, to them, means nothing. I am a mother of 3 sons. That is 3 lives that are targeted just because of color and the choice to not like or respect it. If I could relate to anything right now, I would say the days of segregation. Mothers feared for their husband, children and other family members, not for doing anything wrong but for being black. Nothing is different now…..just the time period.

I’m not just shaken on these last two killings, but the reality that our race has been targets for decades and decades! The targeting and hatred has never stopped, now it’s just caught on video phones by eye witnesses and passerby’s. Contrary to popular belief we are being assassinated every day in different ways, shapes and forms. We are just expected to not be awakened to it.

I am way past having enough!

I have past my brink of patience!

Just like any other mother of a black son…..I am just trying to see my sons , grandsons, nephews and friends live to see the days of old age. To see their valuable lives be as valuable to others as it is to me. But I will be the first to say….that will never happen, not in my life time. I’m not naive to the fact that this monster called racism is viciously out of control. It is in our government, our schools, our jobs and so many other businesses and organizations. So to defeat the monster, you have to destroy something that has been built and formed for 200 or more years.  It is carefully crafted; all loopholes covered and filled, and can rebuild itself very quickly.

I am not naive to the fact that we have been fighting for our rights for years for our voices to fall upon death ears and other lives being put before ours. I am a part of the revolution but I also know that it has always been an uphill battle on a treadmill that seems to have no end.

But I am ready…….ready to stand in between a loaded gun and my son (sun) and scream to the top of my lungs for justice! I am ready to fight the wrongs of people that blame their negative choices on the actions of people that they have enslaved and oppressed for years. I am ready scream “No Justice, No Peace” in the face of an officer that stands his or her ground in the face of wrong doing. I am ready to continue fighting oppression……..I am ready!!!

But I am also ready to tell my sons and daughters the brutal and sad truth about life. The fact that Alton Sterling And Philando Castile leave behind family and community that suffers a lost that many don’t care about. The truth that Sandra Bland and Travon Martin still needs justice but those instances have been swept under the rug as if they didn’t occur. The truth that there are many other unnamed souls that have been taken by the hands of the unjust. The truth that the same people that are meant to protect and serve are murdering us because they can.

The brutal truth that in the world we live in, their lives don’t matter……….

 

Dialog between me and cowriter of The Village Blog. Keep in mind this is not an argument just views on the way that we feel. I felt that it was important to include it because I understand her opinion as she understands mine.

Eboni: why keep reiterating the obvious and what’s all over the internet already..if you remember correctly we put that up on the blog last year concerning Trevon Martin, Leon Ford, etc.!! My issue is that we keep pulling this BLACK LIVES MATTER card but that only seems to come into play when nonsense like this is done to us at the hands of white people, cops, etc.  BLACK LIVES DON’T MATTER when young men and women are getting killed daily at the hands of other black people who know the struggles our race faces on a daily basis.

I just feel at this point we should focus on what are we going to do, when will African American men and women stand together to fight racism?? I truly feel ALL LIVES MATTER, we were all created in GOD’s image and should be focused on loving one another as God loves us!!  Not all blacks are bad, not all cops are bad, not all whites are bad, not all Muslims are terrorists, not all Mexicans are here illegally….you know what I mean.

So sorry for the detailed email, I’m just so exhausted by all of this. It truly breaks my heart when I hear of all these senseless killings, despite who’s at fault. I instantly think of these babies growing up without a parent, moms and dads burying the child that they fought so hard to raise.  Let’s start talking about loving one another and showing love!!

Me: Absolutely. But I only disagree with All Lives Matter. White lives always mattered, Colored lives don’t. That is the problem. But I agree with change

Eboni: Colored don’t matter, and unfortunately have never mattered..but whats even more disturbing is that colored lives don’t even matter to the colored!! That’s the problem..that’s the bull ish right there..our lives don’t matter to us but they better matter to everyone else.. go figure

Me: As a mother of sons I believe in keeping the sour taste in people’s mouths to evoke change. How do you create change…..piss people off enough that you make them want to change. We have no gotten angry enough. We march once or twice and its phased out. We don’t boycott retailers because we are so caught up in materialistic things. We have to evoke anger for a change.

Eboni: Sadly nothing will ever change until we come together as a WHOLE and do just what you said. Protest, boycott stores, etc. Until then this is what we’re gonna get!! Can you imagine how powerful we would be as a WHOLE..OMG..unstoppable!!