Black Lives Matter.

Humaira
Jun 9, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Dec 14, 2022

If the conversation is hard, it's probably the one worth having.

We all know what's been going on these past couple of weeks around the globe, especially in the United States. If you don't, you need to get out from under your rock and watch the news, go on social media, or even just go for a walk and you will know what is happening. I know some of these points have been circling the web, but I wanted to assemble them into one post as well as add my views.

8 minutes and 46 seconds. That is how long a Minneapolis police officer had his knee on George Floyd's neck which killed him, whilst 3 other police officers watched and did nothing. Being Black in America should not be the death penalty. Unfortunately, there have been many more before George. Tamir Rice. Jonathan Ferrell. Sandra Bland. Rekia Boyd. Gregory Gunn. Aiyana Stanley-Jones. Tanisha Anderson. John Crawford III. Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. Michael Brown. Akai Gurley. Willie Bo. Terence Crutcher. Keith Lamont Scott. Christian Taylor. Samuel DuBose. Jordan Edwards. Jamar Clark. Botham Shem Jean. Natasha McKenna. Eric Garner. David McAtee. Breonna Taylor...and too many more. #SayTheirNames

However, we all know that this does not only just happen in America. I've seen a lot of tweets on my timeline that says "wHy ArE yOu PrOtEsTiNg SoMeThInG iN tHe Uk iF iT hAPpEnEd iN aMeRiCa?!" because I would like to point out that the UK is not innocent. Here are a few reasons why:

Black people are twice as likely to die in police custody than white people.
Black graduates are 2x more likely to be unemployed than their white peers.
Black women are 5x more likely to die during childbirth.
95% of the doctors who died during the first month of Covid-19 were from the BAME community.

Systemic racism and oppression exist at all levels in the UK; the media (rag newspapers), education, healthcare, housing, advertising, employment, and the justice system. If you can't see this, then you are part of the problem.

One case in the UK that upsets me the most is Shukri Yayhe-Abdi's. A 12-year-old girl was threatened and then pushed into the River Irwell in Greater Manchester in June last year, where she drowned to death. This case is absolutely mind-blowing because you have a case where a little Muslim Black girl was killed by her classmates, someone witnessed the tragedy and came forward, her body had bite marks, the same killers tried to kill her before, yet it's ruled an "accident" and buried. Would the killers still be walking free if they had been Black Muslims? Would they still think she "accidentally drowned herself" if Shukri Abdi had been a little white girl? They can't bury her story. A mother brought her kids to the UK for a better life in 2017 just for it to be taken away, do you know how sad that is?

On the other hand, the Madeleine McCann case has been receiving continuous public funding (£11 MILLION to be exact) and remains active. An example of white middle-class privilege had Shukri been white and raised by white public figures instead of her Somali mum her case would be dealt with, with serious conviction. #JusticeForShukriAbdi

It is a privilege to learn about racism, instead of experiencing it your whole life.

We can not just wait for change and expect a difference. We can not just sit and wait for change to appear. In order for change, we need to start within ourselves, within our households, and within our communities and lead by example. It shouldn't take a tragedy for people to sit up and notice that something needs to be done. We need to educate ourselves, our children, and our elders, in order to learn from our mistakes and make this a better world, and a better future for the generations to come. Black lives matter, always. Not just today or tomorrow, but always. This is not something you stop talking about because you posted a black square on Instagram, because you signed a couple of petitions, or because you retweeted a few tweets and because the topic isn't trending anymore. A revolution is happening, but so is a test. It's a test to see who is going to show up for Black lives when they're not the latest news highlight. A test to see who is really about dismantling systems of oppression. A test to see who is really committing to liberation, freedom, and justice in the long run.

Continue to post and share the truth behind what is happening.