Exhausted, helpless, powerless, rage, disbelief. That is what I feel just reading about how individuals in our Black community have been continually systematically disenfranchised in the US. My indignation grows with every article and investigative report. I felt that just READING about it. What if I lived it every single day? My heart aches, my soul breaks, tears flow, fury rises.
Peace is not possible as long as injustice is justified, ignored, dismissed, or discounted. Peace is not possible as long as a pretense of moral or economic superiority is believed to be true merely because personal experience has not taught us otherwise. We must look behind the curtain, see the mirror there, and recognize the part we all play in elevating the Black community to equality, justice, freedom and dignity.
We must advocate appropriately, speak thoughtfully, stand fearlessly, and learn endlessly. We can learn from credible resources such as Color Of Change in order to take Informed Action; learn how to be a better ally through experiences shared; learn from powerful empathy-building narratives like Steve Locke’s blog; and be mindful not to paint all those with power and privilege as un-empathetic and brutish.
Fury at the power and cruelty some are willing to wield over others for personal profit and control is what led me to start the i-5 Freedom Network. Our Vision is to end human trafficking so that all may live with freedom and dignity. We will continue to fight for the right for all to take their next breath on their own terms. And whether it is for those enduring the trauma of labor and sex trafficking or those living with the daily injustices that come from merely being Black in this world, we stand with those fighting, we weep with those suffering, we wholeheartedly agree that Black Lives Matter.