Black Lives Matter

Today was my son’s birthday and I woke up to the news of Philando Castile’s death, less than a day after Alton Sterling was killed by police. We opened presents and ate donuts while two more families are preparing to bury their sons. It’s sickening, and heartbreaking, and so many of us feel powerless and frustrated in the face of this epidemic of blatant racism and hate. It’s three days after the Fourth of July, and our country is far from united. Black men, women, and children aren’t safe on our streets, and the truth is, they never were.

I don’t have any answers, but I believe it helps to talk and write about the injustices we see and read about. Many bloggers and social media activists are voicing their concerns, and I think it’s valuable to share your own thoughts and to speak up, too. If you’re concerned and angry about the murders of so many Black people at the hands of law enforcement, talk to your friends and family. Call and email your politicians and consider ways in which you can volunteer your time. Pay attention in your neighborhood and city and find ways to make things a little better. If we can learn to love our neighbors and look out for each other, that love will ripple and flow, and maybe, just maybe, make a difference.

My heart is breaking and I’ve cried for these men I never met, for their mothers, and their girlfriends, and their children. Their stories are not my own, and they deserve the chance to speak and be heard. Listen. Watch the videos that are posted, as difficult as that might be. Because Black Lives Matter.

Here are some posts I found helpful today:

Advice For White Folks in the Wake of the Police Murder of a Black Person by Justin C. Cohen.

This Is What White People Can Do To Support #BlackLivesMatter by Sally Kohn.

Black Exhaustion by Pilot Viruet.

Black Lives Matter by Grace Bonney of Design Sponge.

From Beyoncé’s site.

On Teaching and the Murder of Alton Sterling by Laurie White.