Over the last six months, America and the rest of the world was hit with an unprecedented pandemic that altered the way we went about our daily lives. We were quarantined in our homes and many of the things we took for granted like going to a restaurant or gym were forbidden to keep everyone safe from the spread of COVID-19. We were encouraged to wear masks, not just for ourselves, but to protect the lives of those around us. Even though being told to wear a mask and stay inside essentially goes against our freedoms as Americans, everyone did it to protect others and stop virus spread.
The past months have also brought to the forefront a powerful movement against the racial injustices, which have gone on for way too long in our country. The Black Lives Matter Movement has been at the forefront for change for years but was recently sparked by unjust treatment by police that resulted in the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I remember the protests after George Floyd’s death. Where I live there were peaceful marches of people holding signage and speaking up vocally for racial injustice. However, protests in other cities resulted in violence and looting. Why was that? I live outside Baltimore, recognized as one of the most violent cities in the US, yet our marches were some of the most peaceful. I remember after the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the most important thing to me was educating myself on racial injustice by watching movies like Thirteen and Selma. I took time to reflect, listen and educate myself on racism. It brought me to learn about organizations like the Loveland Foundation, which brings opportunities for mental health healing for women of color and blackgirlscode.com. I felt a positive spirit as everyone moved toward positive change. I held a sign of Unity proudly in my neighborhood during a peaceful protest.
Our Nation was founded on certain principles that protect our freedoms as individuals stated in our Constitution. These principles are for everyone because “All men are created equal.” Under the First Amendment, we have freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition. The wonderful thing about our First Amendment rights are they can help to push positive change in our country. Under the First Amendment individuals have the right to peacefully protest and speak up for injustices and journalists have the right to cover those protests.
Over the past few months, it seems that the protests portrayed in the news have a more violent spin, although ironically, I read recently in Time that over 93% of the protests are peaceful. Everyone has a right to peacefully protest against injustices. The question is whether the true mission of speaking out against racial injustices is getting lost with the negative press of the violence occurring in Rochester and Philadelphia and Portland. It seems to be becoming a political battleground leading up to the election. Real change is needed, but the best way is through education and unity.
Recently, Major League Athletic Associations, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA and NCAA protested by halting practices and games in protest to the violence against Jacob Blake. The New York Post stated that the NFL teams, The Jets and The Bills stayed inside of the locker room to avoid the obligation to take a knee during the National Anthem. Whereas, during the game between The Seattle Seahawks and The Falcons, every player took a knee during kickoff. The movement of taking a knee has become a way of free expression and protest. Starbucks employees fought to be able to wear BLM shirts at work and last week American Airlines stated that employees will wear BLM pins. Most recently I watched Osaka win the US Open. Naomi Osaka wore seven different masks with the names that included Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile, and Tamir Rice. After winning the U.S. Open and her grand slam title, her response to the ESPN reporter was powerful. She stated, “What was the message that you got was more the question. I feel like the point is to make people start talking.” What is great about Osaka wearing the masks is she used her free speech to focus on the issue at hand which is to get people talking about racial injustice in a strong and positive way.
Real change is needed. Everyone is equal under the laws of this country and that’s what makes our country awesome. Change never happens easily, but the time is now for us to support each other and help make it happen. Everyone, especially my generation, needs to educate ourselves on racism and become the change. It is important to use our First Amendment Rights in a positive and peaceful way to support and make these changes happen.
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