Within a week, the state of the country has dramatically changed, and I have decided I wanted to highlight and bring awareness to the Black Lives Matter movement rather than posting any photography or lifestyle blogs this week. I am big on educating myself on social problems in the U.S and around the world. This is very crucial one that has gone on for way too long in this country and around the entire globe and something has to change.
I was a bit hesitant about posting today, In fact I feel that it is almost wrong for me to post right now because today has been marked as ‘Blackout Tuesday,’ a day of silence to recognize and bring mass awareness to the issue of police brutality and racial injustice at hand. So why would I still be posting? The answer is that I believe it is important for me to be able to use this platform to inform viewers about what is happening because unfortunately, I have seen a myriad of people who have been silent or have stayed neutral in this issue. It is time for real change in America, and recent events have only highlighted the emphasis for a social change.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” – Desmond Tutu
This quote holds the upmost truth to those who are choosing to stay silent on this issue. While I understand not wanting to get involved, it is extremely crucial to show support to this movement because this country has endured a long and scary history of racial injustice. I believe freedom of speech is totally valid for staying neutral; however, it is better to use that freedom of speech to emphasize the importance of this movement and to rise up peacefully against police brutality, racial injustice, and many more social problems.
A Discussion On Protesting
This leads to the discussion of peaceful versus violent protesting. My observation and stance is that peaceful protesting works only when everyone is actually listening and paying attention. This means understanding frustrations, kneeling with protesters, wanting change, etc. However, peaceful protesting has shown to not always work because not everyone is understanding these frustrations, wanting to advocate and vise versa.
Where it turns violent is when provoking occurs and acts of violence are carried out, often times for no reason such as we’ve seen where tear gas and rubber bullets are fired by police officers. If you have time to research the Stanford Prison Experiment, I highly recommend doing so as it helped me to understand why people in authority may choose to act out in certain ways, even when totally unnecessary.
From a historical context, more violent protesting actually made real changes within the country. Pride month wouldn’t be possible today without the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Not to mention that this movement was also spearheaded by a black transgender woman named Marsha P. Johnson, further emphasizing the importance of the Black Lives Matter movements today.
Ways to bring Awareness and Advocating
I highly encourage viewers to advocate and to not remain silent on these issues today. I believe real change will come from this, but not when we have large amounts of people who are remaining silent on these issues. And remember their names…. Eric Garner, George Floyd, Michael Brown, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many others. The names shouldn’t keep adding up…
The Following Are Ways In Which you can Advocate, bring awareness, and help this historical movement (Like, we are living in a history textbook right now! This is going to matter!!):
- Reach out to followers and raise awareness on social media!
Reaching out to your followers and asking them in their DMs what they are doing to raise awareness to the movement is one of the most crucial steps. But please avoid trying to argue with them if they don’t understand or tweeting things in all caps, however, do show your anger but in a constructive way.
Repost any links to petitions, donation spots, etc. and informational statistics that can help followers further understand the need for the movement. (Some links are provided below for where you can donate and sign petitions. If you cannot donate, make sure to sign the petitions!)
George Floyd
Breonna Taylor
Ahmaud Arbery
BLM Movement
- Don’t stop until real change is made!
Keep doing everything you can, that is safe, to make sure the issue stays front and center so that real change will come! If you are able to protest, do so peacefully. Many of the protests have turned violent from individuals with different agendas, so make sure to stay vigilant and on the same page of peaceful protesting. Also, make sure you are prepared to protest, this requires many precautions especially because we are still in a Pandemic! (Below is a link to some information regarding what to bring when you protest)
Going forward, please raise awareness… Do not stay silent on these social injustices. All lives matter when Black Lives Matter. Please understand why the movements are taking place and will continue to do so. Stay safe, stay vigilant, and stay healthy!!
See you all in next week’s blog post.
Cut, peace out!
- Josiah
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