I am a Fighter!

As I sit and think about all the events that have gone on this past week, I cannot help but to feel a sense of despair and pain. Our men are being murdered by those who have been hired and trained to protect and serve our communities. It grieves me deeply while watching the images of our people crying, yelling, marching, protesting, and at the end of the day—searching for help in a country that has not been of any assistance to them. It grieves me that our people have not come any further than in the days of old, in which Jim Crow reigned and we were terrorized by the deep melanin tones of our skin.

But, to add insult to injury, we have become desensitized to these types of tragedies. The term “black on black crime” seeps out of the pores of the very individuals that have been disenfranchised and oppressed for the greater part of 400 years , here in the assumed “land of the free, home of the brave”. Meanwhile, the perpetrators continue to live freely and the killings continue. From Ferguson, to Detroit, to Florida, New York, to California—our men continue to perish. The value placed on the life of our sisters and brothers is extremely undervalued. Some people in this country place more importance in the abuse of animals than their black neighbor. And to add to it, the mentality of “well we kill each other so we shouldn’t be upset”, continues to permeate the atmosphere and we have taken a backseat to eh issue at hand. People actually think that because there are crimes in our communities that  surely we should not feel any remorse at the deaths of Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, and the countless others . This ideal is the most atrocious thing I have heard during this entire ordeal.

It is my belief that each life, no matter how insignificant to those who murder and maim , was ordained and intended to be lived. The Most High has no respect of persons and if he had not intended for that individual to live, He would not have breathed life into that person. So, what are we to do in a world in which the police or your brother decides to murder?

We are to fight. Not with guns, not with words, but with love, patience, and most of all, solidarity and intelligence. The fight we are fighting never ended. The Golden Age of the Civil Rights movement, the conscious awakening in the 80’s and 92’s was replaced by complacency. Instead of us continuing to ensure that our people had a chance, we began to become gossipers and observers instead of doers. We are losing the fight. It is time for us to stand united and speak our against injustice and oppressive tactics that have plaqued us for so long.

I am fighting . I am fighting every day. It is my deepest desire to leave this world in a better condition than when I entered. There are many of us who feel as deeply and as passionately as I do. There are more than the world realizes. We are fighting, we are protesting, we are marching, we are boycotting. We will be heard! We will not stop! We are growing and organizing more and more every day so watch out. We are coming!!

“It takes consistent resistance to effect substantial change!”

 -Andre’a “The Lioness”