Las vidas de las personas Negras importan (en inglés)
For too long Black and Brown people have been subject to unjust treatment and unyielding systemic hate. The following is my personal statement.
The first on this land were the hundreds of tribes of indigenous people who already called present-day U.S. their home. When the Europeans arrived, they robbed and mass murdered these humans. In order to maintain the workload in these newly formed European colonies, the settlers enslaved African people and forced them to do backbreaking work under inhumane conditions. And what did the colonizers do to keep these enslaved people from rebelling? They hired some people to keep them under control. This practice has evolved into our modern day police force*.
Since the inception of the United States, Black people (among others) have never been fully free nor had full rights under the law. So many positive movements have happened since then, but we’re not done. Watch “13th” on Netflix for more accurate information. We live in a white supremacist, capitalist structure that values money and power over human lives. I know this language may seem extreme to some, but this is how the system has always been. Why is white skin color the standard? Why is this the norm? It’s up to the people who benefit from this system to dismantle it.
Don’t ask a Black person to educate or instruct you on how to not be racist. We have the tools all over the internet. We have countless BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) who have been speaking out for a long time. We should have listened then and we should be listening and taking action now within ourselves and our social circles. Unlearning is one of the most difficult things to do but it is absolutely necessary to do away with archaic ways of interpreting how our society functions.
We must completely restructure the white supremacist, capitalist foundations on which the US is built. It disproportionately, negatively affects those who are Black and especially poor. During this time of idleness, during this epidemic, we are restless and finally fighting back for tangible, lasting change.
Things that should be a right become a privilege. If you don’t have money or influence you’re thrown by the wayside. Not to mention, if you’re a trans or queer BIPOC you’re entitled to even less**.
The current administration isn’t working toward a better society for all. Do we want to live in a place where calling an ambulance may bankrupt you and calling the police may kill you? Everyone deserves to exist unafraid to be who you are and to live in a place where you can have a peaceful, fulfilling life.
Of course no one person is perfect, so we must protect and uplift each other! And most importantly learn from our mistakes. We are no longer accepting apologies without changed behavior.
image by @teabag.cartoon on instagram
In the wake of the Covid-19 global epidemic and the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and an unnecessary number of others, the people have had enough. We now have the mental space and actual time to take action and pay attention to what Black and Brown people have been experiencing for decades. It’s not enough to not be racist, we must be actively ANTI-Racist. Racism is also a global epidemic***.
Now, to fully understand the scope of this movement one must understand we’re not just protesting against racism, or against police brutality against BIPOC, we are calling for structural change. We need to have uncomfortable conversations with our loved ones. We need to listen to and uplift the voices which have been marginalized for too long! A couple of profound quotes stand out to me during this time:
“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hate so stubbornly is because they sense, once the hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with the pain” // “I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually”.
–James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son
It’s up to each of us to keep ourselves active in our communities, move forward, and call out injustice when we see it happening in our every day lives, however small. This conversation doesn’t end when it stops trending on instagram. We must liberate our Black and Brown siblings by opening our eyes to the truth and opening our hearts to them. Giving money, time, resources, anything you can to help your fellow human helps move us forward as a society.
More specifically, because I am an actor living in this country and am immersed in performing arts, I want to gear my attention and time toward making my industry an accessible, environmentally sustainable, compassionate, anti-racist place for EVERYBODY. I am constantly trying to better myself for the sake of those around me, challenging my own biases and those of my peers. I always ask questions and am eager to learn new things, especially within a performance space. I hope that I can help my community have more empathy and understanding.
These are some of the traits I hope to bring to the table in any work environment.
Below are resources to better educate oneself on these issues as well as links on where to best donate one’s time and money. This is not an exhaustive list, do your own research and fact-check what you find :)
click here for antiracism and BLM resources – this is a collaborative google doc created by Edmee Marie Faal (IG: @edmee.marie)
Plays to read by Black playwrights:
PIPELINE – DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU
JITNEY – AUGUST WILSON
FUNNYHOUSE OF A NEGRO – ADRIENNE KENNEDY
A RAISIN IN THE SUN – LORRAINE HANSBERRY
CHOIR BOY – TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY
TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992 – ANNA DEAVERE SMITH
Organizations accepting donations:
Black Lives Matter Foundation: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/
The Marsha P. Johnson Institute: https://marshap.org/
The Loveland Foundation: https://thelovelandfoundation.org/
What to Watch/Listen to:
13th - Netflix documentary
When They See Us - Netflix show
1619 - podcast by NYTimes
Code Switch - podcast by NPR
***click here for more on this
last edit: September 30, 2020