Why I Raise My White Voice for #BlackLivesMatter
RIP Tyre King | Columbus, OH
I woke up this morning to a text from my dad:
I am a white 24yo female living and working in Columbus, Ohio.
I knew he meant well.
Tyre King was a 13 year old boy. He was shot and killed by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio yesterday evening. From the friends and family that gathered, shared and mourned with the community this evening I heard that Tyre was a playful and well-loved boy. He was 13.
A year ago I would have never seen myself attending a community vigil, tweeting about Black Lives Matter, joining a Show Up for Racial Justice community training. While I paid silent witness to the violent racial divide, I felt it wasn’t my voice that needed to be heard.
Recently, I changed my mind. Why do I now decide to raise my voice? I realized that my nearest community was too comfortable, too secluded…and that I was a lot more likely to change that than Adrienne Hood was. That’s how your sphere of influence works. The closer I am to a cause, the more I can bring it home.
No more apologizing for making you uncomfortable when I bring white privilege up at the dinner table or at a work gathering. If you can’t get comfortable confronting racism, nothing changes. And I will no longer be part of that indirect oppression.
I raise my voice where I feel it can amplify the stories that need heard the most. Like tonight, when Tyre’s former football coach and team joined the vigil. A humanizing moment that showed my social network that Tyre was not just another victim — he was a real, young boy who was loved and who will be missed. Clearly, it resonated.
I also raise my voice when I’m with friends or family who I know still aren’t comfortable putting their privilege to good use. I feel white guilt, as I should — but opening a discourse prevents that guilt from manifesting into shame.
White people in Columbus, embrace your privilege and allow it to help you make a difference. Do it in honor of Tyre King, Henry Green, Tamir Rice and too many others.
Mayor Andrew Ginther stated several times during today’s press conference that Columbus was the “safest big city.” Later, at Tyre’s vigil, an organizer asked us to raise our hands if Columbus was truly a safe city for us. Many white hands reached up. That public honesty was a beautiful acknowledgement. My hand was raised as well.
So yes, Dad, I’m safe. But I am going to do what little I can to make sure every single one of Tyre’s teammates, siblings and cousins that we saw tonight is safe too.
Follow and support People’s Justice Project . Read Roxane Gay’s On Making Black Lives Matter essay. However you choose to pray, meditate or send love…do so for Tyre’s family and friends.
