Black Lives Matter. Sometimes shame can inspire us to DO better, to BE better.
Kristina Eklund
Deep down I believe that all lives matter, which is EXACTLY why, as an American today I MUST join the chorus and emphatically say “Black Lives Matter.” You see, even words that sound as positive as "all lives matter” can be harmful when they’re used to disown our reality and to ignore the disadvantages faced by a portion of our population.
Honestly, I am ashamed that my country, which I love and appreciate and happily call home, has a dark and tragic history of citizens treating fellow human beings like objects to be shackled, abused, traumatized, and profited from. I use the word ‘history’ lightly. Clearly the dehumanizing treatment of fellow humans, fellow Americans, with darker skin than mine is NOT neatly in our national past as I was taught to believe.
As Jacob Blake’s father said, we have two lanes for justice in this country- one black and one white, and they are not equal. When I marched in a protest, as a white person I did not fear that the policemen behind me might shoot me in the back. And that is just the tip of the iceberg of white privilege.
Sometimes when we feel the pain of shame, it’s because there is an opportunity before us. An opportunity to step up our game, to up-level our awareness, to co-create systems that align with our values. As a nation, we can DO better, we can BE better. Black Lives Matter.