Dark Clouds of Racism: Black Lives Matter

In the past two weeks, I have felt as if there were a dark cloud hovering over my brain and body.  Restlessly, I have been attempting to keep myself occupied, because doing nothing means I will sit on my phone. Regardless of what social media platform I use, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement covers my feed.

Although I am happy to see the awareness being raised, all of the sickening videos and pictures I am seeing, have instilled a great sadness in me, and all of the different opinions and perspectives have been overwhelming. I have learned that regardless of what you say, there will always be that one person out there who has a problem with it, so it is difficult to express your feelings.

This latest racial incident gave me immense stress.

I wanted to use my voice and spread awareness of this revolutionary cause on social media by expressing my feelings. But at the same time, I was afraid that it would get lost in context as I do often believe in-person conversations are more powerful. It is always best if you can hear the emotion from the speaker. 

I then received a text message from a friend of mine asking if I would like to attend a peaceful protest in New Rochelle, NY – a very diverse town with a strong black community. Regardless of what town this took place in, I would have said yes. 

This protest began at Lincoln Park. After we parked the car and walked closer to our destination, the voices got louder, and the fire that had been sitting inside of me began to unleash. The first thing I noticed was the diversity in the crowd, and I felt we were all in this together. People were angry and wanted their voices to be heard. We started our walk, covering the streets with signs and chants;

“No justice, no peace, no racist police.”

Our walk continued as people honked their horns and raised their fists high. They wanted to make it known they were with us; they too, feel this anger. Our first destination was the City Hall of New Rochelle. Here, people spoke their feelings with passion and tears. 

“You don’t know what it is like to be a black woman raising a son in this country.”

“I have to call my husband every hour to make sure he is safe.”

 “I pay my tax dollars to this town, and as we stand here peacefully, do you think they are out here right now supporting us?” As he points to the government building behind him

With open ears, I listened. I considered every word knowing full well, I will never be able to understand the form of life black humans face living in a predominately white world with the history held behind us. 

 “I went to high school and was not taught anything about the black communities past, with all of the tragedy we have faced in American history, I had to educate myself once I graduated. Why is that?”

The last question an elderly man asked the crowd;

“I ask you, what are you willing to give to make sure we are all equal?”

“ANYTHING!” the people in the crowd screamed back.

We were all on the same page. None of us want to live in a world where one human is less than another. 

As the speakers finished, we began our walk to New Rochelle High School, to establish recognition for the youth. Our voices meshed together in chant, as it began to rain. The harder the rain fell, the louder we chanted. The weather made us more invigorated and we kept going.

I noticed the anger and saddened faces of the people protesting around me had turned to smiles of relief. I could see that not only I, but they as well, began to feel as though a bit of our anger was slightly going away. Because at this moment, together, we kept going, and that gave us confidence. That dark cloud hanging over my head was being washed away with the rain of hope. 

“Black lives matter!”

I screamed these three words countlessly to the point where I thought – Wow, those words placed together in one sentence shows how much our country has hurt this culture. Us white humans will never find ourselves in the position where we will have to say, “white lives matter,” and that itself is a privilege. 

Let’s talk about segregation. 

This culture fought for their freedom from slavery for years. After being granted that supposed freedom, they were told, ‘fine, you don’t have to slave for us, but you are still less than us.‘ The hypocrisy was evident as they drank from different water fountains, used separate bathrooms, attended different schools, told to sit in the back of the bus (something so ridiculous to establish white dominance), and not given the same job opportunities. 

The fight for change continued for years until MLK was shot. This anger led his followers to tear cities apart, causing the government to spend millions of dollars on reparations. The Civil Rights Act passed six days later. ( Do you wonder why this is taking place right now?) After this monumental accomplishment, our country began the industry of prisons. The people in charge of the jails were ordered to fill the cells to capacity. To this day, the black community primarily fills these cells with numbers more significant than the number of slaves sold at the beginning of this journey. 

To say racism doesn’t exist day to day anymore is pure ignorance. 

(If you disagree with my facts, please educate yourself by simply watching the documentary “13” on Netflix.) 

My opinion is this; you are not living life until you have learned to fill your heart with love. 

It isn’t just that black lives matter; it is the fact that black lives matter just as much as white lives do, and people in power are still not treating it as such. 

Now I ask you, did America ever give the black community a chance to be equal?

Isabella Riguzzi

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Thank you, to my beautiful Bella for today’s post. She, too, is listening and learning through her own sadness. Isabella just finished her junior year at SUNY Cortland as a Physical Education major. So proud of all my girls for their contribution to society and their advocacy to make this world a better place and equal for all.

Thank you to Kaylie Dymek for her pictures of some pretty cool graffiti in Wisconsin!

I continue to pray for peace and justice for all, but please stop the violence!

Much Love,

Sandy

#enlighten #empower #inspire #educate #spreadlovenothate #blacklivesmatter #equalityforall