Thoughts After Participating in My First Protest: BLM

I never participated in protests out of fear of getting pepper sprayed, beaten, tear-gassed, arrested, or worse yet, shot. Yesterday, I joined the Black Lives Matter crowd and we marched miles up and down West End Ave and Church Street in Nashville, disrupting traffic on two of the city’s main arteries. Lots of people honked at us to express support, and others anger.

I was delighted be part of such a well organized effort. Chanting and marching, holding hands, praying, meeting new people: It was all about community. People from very different backgrounds very highly involved: whites, hispanics, asians, hipsters, hoteps, yuppies, college kids, you name it, they were present.

I have a few white friends that are very vocal about injustices, and interact with others who neither acknowledge their privilege nor recognize how bad people of color can have it. It was refreshing though, to see many many white people echoing our movement’s message. It gave me hope that many more may catch on. It was also sad and alarming to see many people, some younger than me with signs asking “Am I next?” Attending this protest was a great catalyst for an introspective moment. It made me think deeply about any bias I may have against people that are different from me for whatever reason, and want to actively challenge said biases. I surely hope that it had the same effect on the bystanders, including the officers who by duty were watching the protest to ensure things were kept safe.

Stepping out of my comfort zone by joining this protest renewed the faith I have in humanity, and I highly encourage those around me who are silent about injustice towards anyone to become active and to speak out. In the words of MLK, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.