🆃🅷🅴 🅱︎🆁🆄🆃🅰︎🅻 🆃🆁🆄🆃🅷.

I have kept quiet this week for many reasons. 🅵🅴🅰︎🆁 of saying the wrong thing, 🆂🅷🅰︎🅼🅴 for the things I have and haven’t done. 🅶🆄🅸🅻🆃 for not doing something sooner, and 🆂🅰︎🅳🅽🅴🆂🆂 for not realizing my role in the whole damn thing.

I didn’t think I had the right to speak. I am 🅽🅾︎🆃 🅱︎🅻🅰︎🅼🅴🅻🅴🆂🆂. And I am not looking for someone to make me feel better about it.

I want to sit in the ugliness, I want to stay in the mud. I don’t want to be cleansed or forgiven because I will never fully understand what it is like to grow up as a person of colour.

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I will never know the feeling of someone’s knee upon my neck... Now imagine a whole culture who never had the knee 🆃🅰︎🅺🅴🅽 🅾︎🅵🅵 🆃🅷🅴🅸🆁 🅽🅴🅲🅺. I will never understand what it’s like to grow up 🆃🅴🆁🆁🅸🅵🅸🅴🅳 🅾︎🅵 being pulled over by 🆃🅷🅴 🅿︎🅾︎🅻🅸🅲🅴, the very people who are there to protect you.

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Racism is alive and well ALL OVER THE WORLD, not just in the US.

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And it is now OUR job to change that. It is OUR responsibility to see it for what it is. Its time to speak up and out at the people who refuse to change. We NEED TO CHANGE. We need to do the hard work of self-reflection and educate ourselves.

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It is not ok to bury my head in the sand any longer, I can no longer stand on the sidelines. It is my responsibility to make it not acceptable, it's time to join the fight. It is up to me to hold myself but others accountable for our part in continuing the cycle. Racism needs to end. The time is NOW!