Get In Here And Help Us Clean Up This Mess
Educating is exhausting, but necessary, I told a dear friend who shared how bone-achingly tired she is of trying to help white people understand what it is like to be black in America. “They don’t want to own their stuff,” she said. “They created this mess; they need to help clean it up.”
My friend is spot on. Black folks have been glossing over, pretending and placating for far too long. We’ve been expected to clean up the aftermath of a dirty system we didn’t create and sure as hell wasn’t created for us. We are tired of doing all the work, we are worn down, and our last nerves are frayed.
We are no longer willing to pretend like our house is in order when we have known for some time that it is in total disarray. We can’t just dust the surface. We can’t just stuff the debris in the closet. We need to do some deep cleaning and we need all hands on deck. We need everyone to bring their rubber gloves, an open heart and their best crew.
My crew consists of smart, compassionate, evolved and involved people. They represent varying ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic levels, religious beliefs, zip codes and educational backgrounds. All of us agree that we are no longer willing to sweep the truth under the rug. Our hurt is too raw, too deep and too important.
As people we hurt for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. We hurt for the elderly white man who was knocked down by police and left to bleed from the head in the streets of Buffalo. We hurt for the young police officer in Las Vegas who is fighting for his life after being shot in the head while trying to apprehend a thug who was looting under the guise of a peaceful protest. We hurt for the good cops and are outraged by a system that enables the bad ones to flourish. We hurt for the soul of this country.
We are encouraged by the images of young people from all backgrounds who have taken to the streets for a cause bigger than themselves. The Black Lives Matter Movement is the product of the dirty reality of systemic racism. We know all lives matter. The problem is for far too long this country has been acting like it doesn’t give a damn about black lives.
We know consciousness knows no color. We know people from all backgrounds have been in the fight since the fight began. We need all of you to get in here and help us clean up this mess — it is beyond nasty. America has been hoarding hate and inequity for far too long.
We are telling you that this country is soiled. We are telling you that the only way to clean it up is to rebuild it together on a more equitable foundation. Can you hear us now? Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and do the hard work with us? It is the only way we are going to clean up this wretched mess.
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