The Genesis of #BlackLivesMatter and the Rise of Open Bigotry in Politics

I would really be interested in starting this conversation. How the cold-blooded killing by a white cop of an unarmed Black teenager, Michael Brown, in a tiny Missouri town, has sparked a revolution.

How there is no turning back from what was, to what is.

How the image of that dead, young man — a couple’s CHILD — his bullet-ridden body decaying in the sun on a hot street, in full view of his parents, neighbor’s, and friends, was the Genesis of a national movement.

How social media and cellphones and the 24-hour news cycle combined for the perfect storm to finally, FINALLY, force this country to address the truth: that the lives of Black and Brown people matter little to those in “power.” And this can not stand: It is in fact, not standing.

I am a 50-year-old white female. My background is one mired in challenges but it pales — and no pun intended — to the challenges of people of color. I get that. But I still have thoughts about what has transpired, why it has transpired, and what my hopes and dreams are for this country.

I am a mother first; everything else is secondary. I want my daughter to be proud of this country for being a place where different cultures are accepted, honored, revered. A place where our differences are not only acknowledged, but examined with respect. A place where we do not fear and hate the unfamiliar, but rather, seek to understand without judging or — even worse, perhaps — trying to weasel in under cover of “alliance,” and “explain” why this way is better.

I was moved to this point yesterday when a white Sanders supporter — - and I am one, but not that one — said to a Black man, that Bernie, as a senator, has “done more for African-Americans” than Hilary Clinton. I was utterly enraged by that. Done more? As if Black and Brown people “need” a white person to “do” anything for them. As if Black and Brown people are not capable of doing for themselves. As of Black and Brown people should “reward” Bernie for wanting to level the playing field for everyone.

It made me holler. It made me sick.

I follow many amazing writers here on Medium. I would love for us to use this space to have this conversation in an honest and nuanced way. I want to talk about our experiences and expectations and hopes and observations. What you’ve experienced and what you’ve seen; how it made you feel. And how it has shaped who you are, who you want to be, what you hope for this country, and future generations.

I want to talk to and with each other, not at each other.

If you’re interested, please respond. We can work something out in terms of keeping this as a flowing conversation.

Yours in peace,

Heather