Criminal Justice Needs Police Reform Now, A Look At How 2020 Put Black Lives Matter Back In The Limelight
By: For Us Nation
Tags: BlackLivesMatter, Opinion, Criminal Justice, Protests 2002, For Us Nation

In the year that will be defined by the tumultuous socio-economic pressures and grief brought on us by the Covid 19 pandemic, Black Americans, as usual, have felt more burden by racism in light of police officers around the nation who continue to murder unarmed Black men and women. Will racism against the Afro-American community ever cease to exist? His name was George Floyd. His final cries for his mother while an officer killed him by holding his knee on his neck were heard not only throughout America but launched multiple anti-police brutality protests in cities across the World. Her name was Breonna Taylor. The special prosecutor appointed to her unarmed killing in Louisville is a Black male, a Republican Black male at that. It seems if the ones that hang the noose look exactly like how we do then the white guy won, right? Maybe.

Today is November 9th. Three days ago America elected a new President, and Vice President, her name is Kamala Harris. So as we live and breathe as Black skinned folks around this nation, we are expanding our visibility simultaneously still chanting ‘Black Lives Matter’. Only in America! This magazine itself is owned and operated by Black people. We are everywhere yet it still seems like our lives need to be publicly promoted for protection. Maybe it’s our own fault. If the people in Louisville paid attention to politics before March 2020, Daniel Cameron wouldn’t have gotten the votes he needed to be appointed a Special prosecutor. If we voted the way we did 3 days ago in 2016, then more Americans would be alive in this pandemic. Are we reactive in our lives or proactive? What is the value of your life if skin color is enough to end it? These are the questions I ask myself daily, am I doing enough? Are they?

I’m asking a lot of questions in this piece because we’ve all learned something this year. It might take us a little longer to process what has happened which is normal, but we have shown strength in places we once saw weakness. Even within the activist community, protesting in the pandemic was a health risk, but we took it, because what is air without freedom? Death. It has been the year of figuring it all out. If our government drops the ball, communities will rally to help individuals nearby. We’ve seen this behavior before, during natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria that hit Puerto Rico. We are strong. You are strong. Many feel like there is a race war pending in the underworld of America but I disagree. I think we’ve been fighting this invisible civil war since 2008. Trump et al, is a response to the fear of Black empowerment. Obama was a threat to the establishment, even though he is a part of their establishment. Do you guys remember when they shut down the country? Did you ever hear of that stuff any other time in your lifetime? You can hear the tone in their actions. Exactly. I learn from his words, well to a greater degree, his wife Michelle, but same same. They are honest and they are us. They truly give me hope to see the greatness in others as far as political change goes. Criminal Justice reform is where the work ends but it begins dismantling white privilege. That is why President Biden needed to run with a person of color. We are digging in our heels to prevent the next hashtag or tags (lemme just keep it really real) which means we don’t just speak out when something is trending. We hold power to account by showing up at the polls, writing letters to their state offices, showing up at rallies, and never letting social media or the nonsense of our distractions ever get in the way of our awareness. The next hashtag can be me, what are you doing about it?