Black People Are Human Beings
By: Ena Onami
Tags: Race, Education, Race Relations, Racism, Prison Reform

Black People Are Human Beings

Photo By Jassir Jones for Unsplash

I don’t tweet but I do occasionally click on a Twitter post that pops up on my phone. I did so one morning, after hesitating a little. I was in a good place and feeling good seems like such a fragile thing nowadays. But I clicked on a link and proceeded to read this story of a man being released from prison after 16 years. Taron Hill was convicted of crimes he did not commit. Such situations are not rare in this country’s history and they turn my stomach.

I do not know Taron Hill. I do not (think) I know anyone who knows Taron Hill. I watched and listened to him speak just after being released and I started to tear up when I heard his voice quiver. Yes, I almost cried because I am a sensitive person. I almost cried because a human being was made to suffer for so long, unnecessarily. And all those who love him were made to suffer for so long, needlessly. I am not expecting you to cry but I hope you are having some sort of emotional response to this injustice. And I am hoping those feelings will not disintegrate tomorrow. To be so caught up in our own lives so as to be cut off from the pain of others is to move further and further away from our humanity.

Too many people in this country assume that individuals who go to jail end up there because they are “bad” or have done something illegal, and therefore deserve to be there. And that’s that. No forgiveness. No second chances. They may not state it publicly but that is what many people believe. And they believe it mostly when it comes to black and brown people. They don’t consider the details, the circumstances. To what extent and why do black and brown people disproportionally spend so much time in prison? If you don’t know why I hope you are willing to devote 1 hour and 40 minutes to Netflix’s The 13th. New Jersey made a step toward reform in 2010 with Assembly Bill 2762 but more needs to happen in terms of national prison reform, and quickly. People’s lives are depending on it. And it should not just be people like Mr. Hill who take it upon themselves to do something. I say this knowing that there are other folks out there, doing this important work. But more people need to care. I know it’s a tough sell to convince a lot of Americans that they should. I’m going to try anyway.

I know this will read false and accusatory to some folks but not enough people in this country believe that black people are full human beings. It has been this way for hundreds of years. I want to be proven wrong. But every day, more and more evidence comes to light that supports the argument. I do not think it is possible for white people to fully understand how it feels to be black in America and many don’t want to. The unfairly vilified academic discourse of CRT (Critical Race Theory) is seen as threatening to many people because it exposes prolific systemic racism and discrimination that have persisted for centuries. It is unfortunate that, at this moment, not enough folks want to read it, see it, listen to it, acknowledge it, recognize a part of themselves in it. For those folks, it would necessitate a re-evaluation of all that they hold to be “normal” or “a given” about their lives. More white people need to be willing to be uncomfortable; it is a requirement if they are going to acknowledge the full humanity of black people. More white people need to be willing to let go of their desire to absolve themselves of any responsibility for the oppression of their fellow citizens. More white people need to recognize that we never really overcame slavery in this country and that they wield power because of previous generations of Americans who practiced domestic terrorism. We are not all free. And this fact should turn all of our stomachs.