I have been struggling to find something to say that would either differ from the current narratives of our social media, or say something that would inspire hope. And it’s hard, because at the moment there aren’t many things that I can honestly say inspire hope for me...there is a pandemic currently taking place, there are millions of Americans who look like me, and come from where I come from that are unemployed…people who are wondering where their next meal is going to come from... and there are individuals who are being arrested for their pain which is in turn causing more pain.
In this moment, I think about the people who can’t afford to not work, I think of people who (while it’s hard to justify looting) are told that they are wrong for taking essential supplies that they can’t afford with their current state of income. I am angry at the restrictions put on fellowship and collective mourning due to COVID-19, which I recognize are necessary. As the populace mourns, the lives of unjust violence where there are increasing numbers of names made into hashtags, I am at the same time angry at the undercover officers and individuals who are clearly not in line with peaceful protest.
The other day Zakiya (My Girlfriend) and I, drove into Manhattan and stood at Union Square with the protesters. And there was something electric in the air to stand alongside people who are also grieving. With every chant, you could feel the pressure of bottled up anger dissipate, with every story validation. Last night I watched the nurses and doctors from Beth Israel Hospital across the street from Union Square, join the protest and hand out masks, water, hand sanitizer, and other health supplies to ensure that the protest was not only impactful, but safe; every good movement needs allies. But last night, as I’m driving over the Brooklyn Bridge with protesters walking in between the cars, dancing and cheering as speakers blared Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” (which is become an anthem of the black lives matter movement), I was reminded not only of the fierce urgency of now but of the importance of us being present for each other.
So I ask that you all pray for the police force, who despite giving its best efforts to protect and serve the public, are not trained in matters of social healing. 2020 reminds us (as hard to admit as it is) officers are human, although the system that raises and trains them doesn’t have an intersectional touch. I understand how fear plays a role in how each officer and national guard member comes to the line of work with lives and families of their own that at night they look forward to returning back to. Like any parent, there is nothing parents wouldn’t give to be at home with their families and feel safe.
Today I woke up praying for their fears, that there is an unlearning of training in toxic doctrine. I pray that we are not fearful of that which we don’t understand, and that as a society, we do not continue to meet that which we don’t understand-with violence.
My reflection for today is that the absence of conflict is not the absence of inequality. And I challenge everyone reading this, to be kind to and for themselves, as humans we are empathetic beings. My mission for the week is to be mindful of how much I extend mental peace for the sake of solidarity, and then be mindful of individuals who do not have either the space, time, income, skin, or resources to not be engaged.