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“Well, your ‘tradition’ is rooted in segregation, the very foundation of the systemic racism that has oppressed people of color in this country for centuries.”
You, my child, were created in a hurricane, leaving destruction in your wake. You, as they say, are a storm with skin. Death and rebirth will follow you everywhere. How can one man who knows nothing of the weight of blood tame you? For wherever you go, there you are.
“You wanna help Black people? How about you start by actually helping them instead of just helping yourself?”
“It ain’t never too late to do the right thing.”
“This is what you’re not allowed to see. The school system pulled this out of the curriculum. Parents complained it was ‘too disturbing.’ Probably worried someone will recognize their grandpa’s or mother’s face.” “Why are they hitting them like that?” “These men were called the Greensboro Four. They were doing a ‘sit in’ to protest the racial segregation policy at a store’s lunch counter.” Maddy frowned. “But why were they sitting where they weren’t supposed to?” “Because sometimes you have to, like John Lewis said, ‘Get into good trouble, necessary trouble,’ for your voice to be heard.”
“We all do things to survive, to just get through it. We shut up and do what we’re told, because it’s better than any other option. You always talking about wanting to be a change. How about accepting difference within our own people?”
like being quiet. Everyone always wants me to talk, expecting jokes and burns, and I’m just like . . . it’s cool not to say nothing. Sometimes I just want to chill. Like this.”
And instead of holding the community at large accountable for their actions, everyone has continued to place blame on the greatest victim, creating a monster out of a young girl and using her legacy as a scapegoat to avoid self-reflection.
Because if she had been who she was meant to be from the start, if she’d been allowed to just be herself, in fact if everyone involved was allowed to be their true authentic selves without fear of recourse or ridicule, none of this would have ever happened.
I would counter if racism is ever truly fair? There are always consequences, both seen and unseen. In fact, I gather it’s one of the reasons the state worked so hard to brush this under the rug. Because if people knew revenge of this magnitude was even a remote possibility, there would be far less incidents of racial injustice in the world.
