Good Morning World!!
“We must always be a strong presence, an unrelenting force working for equality and justice until the freedom gates are fully open.” – Dorothy Height
While Juneteenth is a reminder of how much Black people in this country have overcome, the fact that the Black community is once again mourning the death of a Black child at the hands of police is also a reminder of how far we still have to go. Being Black in America is complex. Our culture is celebrated, copied, monetized, and admired around the world, yet we are still forced to navigate racism on a daily basis. Even in my small corner of the internet, I am bombarded with racist comments on a daily basis. I remove them, but the fact that racist white people feel comfortable publicly expressing those views tells you everything you need to know about how normalized and tolerated racism still is in this country. Let me be clear: racism is not a Black problem. It is a white problem. Black people did not create racism, nor do we have the power to dismantle it. White people must be willing to confront racism within their own families, communities, institutions, and social circles if meaningful change is ever going to happen. In the meantime, we will continue to celebrate Juneteenth. We will continue to honor our ancestors, our resilience, our culture, and our contributions to this country. We have survived too much not to.
Happy Juneteenth Everyone!
~ Kai
