I’ve waited almost my whole life for this. All due to the smart phone, thank you..

I was Seven or Eight years old when I was called the ‘N’ word for the first time, and on occasion, rocks were thrown at us all throughout the Three or Four years we lived in this particular New England neighborhood and were old enough to walk to school (later in life the ‘word’ was spewed at me occasionally but less frequent), both my sister and I, who was two years older than me. We lived in a mostly white neighborhood, Irish Catholic I believe, and I guess we were considered ‘brown’ kids, we had a darker complexion and dark brown eyes. It was the late Seventies & early Eighties, the white-as-ivory delinquents didn’t know any better, it was what was happening in their environment and what they saw on television or read in newspapers (if they could even read). Back then I thought about it a lot, I knew it was deep-rooted hate but at the time I didn’t know why (and I could only imagine the racial hate that’s been happening to African Americans for decades, especially down South, and it hurt and affected me deeply). They would scrunch up their face and nose and would clearly and slowly pronounce N-I-G-G-E-R with such venomous hate, and I was in disbelief confused horror. Years after I realized it was systemic racism, an instant uncontrollable thought, a fiber of their being and frame of mind & violent ignorance, or that they truly thought white people were superior to black people, I started dating a guy (total tool with no depth or intelligence) in my late teens and one night out of love and elation (a few beers in me as well) I lifted my arms up over my head and said “I love black people”, he broke up with me the next day.

My eyes are welling up as I write this piece, I’m jubilant and just happy with the current times. The BLM movement and racial injustice protests mean more to me than I realized at first, it was probably just stored away pain or I thought real change would not come of this, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. This is our civil rights movement that happened in the Sixties and I am ecstatic and bursting with excitement for the change that will take place. It is so important that we keep up with these protests and continue until real change takes place (we just now have to wear really cool masks). Political change and changes within police departments and the prison justice system can happen very soon but I think it will take a couple of years for deep-rooted systemic racism and true racial equality & racial justice to take place, but hey I could be wrong (they’re just hopeful heartfelt thoughts), It takes longer to get out of a hateful mess than to start one. These are historic, amazing, and important times we’re living in and the civil unjust that has been happening for many, many years after the civil rights movement, well we now have proof, smartphones. We had video proof for years now but I think I and Americans had just reached a point where we can not take it anymore and things must change for our well-being, country, livelihood & state of mind, emotionally and mentally. Enough is enough!

I think we need to have a female VP nominee of color to keep this movement going and stay alive and last for years and years, and to make a strong statement. We all have been waiting for many years for this and there’s no way in hell we can stop now. If I had a ton of money I would start an organization and try to make sure these protests and the BLM movement continue and never dies out until real, significant & visible change has been made. Please, everyone, keep in mind that you do not have to be black or come from a first or second generation of African American descent to start another BLM movement or organization. Fight, fight, fight, peacefully of course.

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Systemic racism is a cancer that started from slavery & grew. It needs to be eradicated, & America needs to catch up..

I struggle with promoting the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ or the hashtag on social media (not the organization). It’s a controversial statement to me, it’s a contradiction, like they’re not equal to or do not have the same rights, I feel more comfortable using the organization’s @blklivesmatter handle or the hashtag #racialinequality & #racialinjustice. We desperately need real change & bring awareness to racial inequality, & the BLM movement protests does that. Myself and many, many others have been writing and fighting about racial injustice, police brutality against black men, boys & women, & for real change & equality for years.

When I see and hear about racial injustice, it’s deeply rooted systemic racism that goes back to slavery, the civil rights movement in the Sixties made significant improvement but it did not change the way some people think or their frame of mind. Systemic racisim is a frame of mind. So when a white person is with a POC & they’re confronted with systemic racism, & the way you thought for years (It’s ingrained in some peoples minds for centuries) STOP, clear your thoughts and frame of mind, change your way of thinking, you’re just two people that are equal and are the same race & you don’t know that person. That is my frame of mind, that is my thinking, I grew up in a multicultural & multiethnic environment and grew up thinking we’re all equal & there is one race, the human one. This does not apply to deep rooted hate rasicts that will always have the same frame of mind, ignorance.

Once everyone realizes systemic racism is a frame of mind & a way of thinking they can stop it from happening. There’re good & bad white people, there’re good & bad black people. For instance when a police officer pulls over a black man you can not have the same way of thinking that has been ingrained in some for years or from past bad experiences you had or heard about, you just don’t know that person. Cops need sharp instincts (it’s apart of their job) so use your instincts that you were trained for rather than the color of their skin. The only way to eradicate systemic racism is by the way we think and our frame of mind, and I will never stop writing about this in till it is.