Not In My Name: It’s Okay to Talk About It

First written February 16, 2015 by Nilo Thomas

As an advocate for justice, I have been asked many, many times the same question; “What is talking about racism or sexism or classism (insert form of oppression) going to do to solve the issue.” This idea, that the problem with oppression is that people “focus on it too much” or that we talk about it too much, has been one that has driven me crazy since I could remember. When did it become wrong to speak about truth? Oh wait, it’s only wrong when the truth criticizes a system that unfairly and unjustly benefits one group by oppressing other groups, right?

I don’t think so.

I always go through this internal debate whenever I talk about racism in front of people I don’t know or people that I know deny its existence. I always ask myself if I’m coming off as aggressive or angry when the truth is I am angry and sad and passionate about issues of racism and oppression. I forget that I am human and I have emotions and not every word out of my mouth has to be a concise and researched sociological article. I don’t have to know the proper terminology or have “evidence” for every reason I acknowledge that a system or an event or a law is racist. It’s okay to just say, “Yo, that shh is racist.”

I think talking about oppression is important; I believe that being aware of privilege is necessary in order to strive for justice. Talking about racism may not “fix” it but NOT talking about it does something even worse; it allows it to strive, it allows it to go unchecked, it allows it to be forgotten so that when another young unarmed Black man gets shot and killed for holding a toy gun, in the store he would buy it from, people can continue to claim that racism doesn’t exist.

Racism has become something that people push aside as an opinion; they can shrug it off and say, “I don’t see it that way” or “In my opinion racism wasn’t a factor” or “Why do you make everything about race?” But racism is not an opinion that anyone can just decide is invalid; racism is a real experience.

So as I reflected on this idea that talking about racism does no good, I was inspired to write a poem about my thoughts and feelings on this subject, which ended up turning into me talking about and reflecting experiences and truths of my family and my people. No, my words did not solve racism, but I’d rather speak up and shout, “not in my name”, than let racism slide without protest.

I need some peace, and I’d like some assurance
That I will stay free, without any deterrent
But the color of my skin is no kind of insurance
From the microaggressions and the systems concurrent

To the history of oppression and social acceptance
Of the laws and beliefs that today are still present
In the hearts and the minds of the judges in session
Who let killers free even with their confession

The system wasn’t made for us
But we won’t let that bury us
We fight until we see the sun
We’ll fight until the war is won

I’m tired of seeing my brothers and sisters
Dead in the streets by gunshots, in rivers
Of blood of our ancestors, in their graves they must shiver
At the men who kill us, just to keep their six figures

Our lives matter less, at least that’s what they’re saying
When they’re out on the streets harassing and slaying
They keep changing the rules of the games that they’re playing
But I try to keep up and stay strong as I’m praying

That oppression and hate will all soon be extinct
But the system is tight, to say it clear and succinct

I’m so sick of hearing that my aunties and cousins
Have burned in the desert like all of the dozens
Of mothers and fathers who face repercussions
To give hope to their children, but we ignore that discussion

Cause undocumented immigrants can work here, but only in secret
For two dollars an hour they endure the cruel treatment
But once they try to make a life for their children, they breech the invisible agreement
They work harder than most yet the media calls them thieves and indecent

That’s how racism works; deny humanity and replace the blame
Call people “illegal” and “alien”, and you can oppress without shame

The system tries to keep me silent
And when I’m loud they say I’m a problem
The system wants my compliance
To keep my people at the bottom

It pains me to see my uncles locked up like my ancestors before
Locked away in a system that treats them like slaves
The system that targets my people with cheap tricks and trap doors
My uncles tell me to rise above; to go on and be brave

Because the Prison-Industrial complex is always looking for another
Someone, surrounded by the social and racialized problems, that keep them oppressed
Generations of poverty and racism that affects me, my sisters, and brothers
And tunnels us through the prison pipeline; once you’re in the system, you will never rest

You keep moving on; you have no time to weep
Because the history of racism runs very deep

It kills me that my grandparents were abused in boarding schools
That taught them they were uncivilized and their culture was all wrong
Their hair was cut off and they were belittled and exploited like tools
They were beat when they spoke their language and when they didn’t go along

With the assimilation and oppression of their histories and traditions
Because their pride for their people didn’t let them ignore or forget
That they are warriors and soldiers whose faith is their ammunition
So they live with peace in their hearts and go on without any regret

They have hope that their children will always carry on
And live with the truth that they can reach the stars if they want

My family didn’t swim through dangerous rivers and run across treacherous deserts
Or survive generations of slavery, torture, and abuse
Jim Crow, deportations, concentration camps, rape, and genocide
Just so I could be trapped by racism and oppression

My people have fought for their freedom
For generations upon generations
And they continue to fight

So I will keep shouting and screaming and howling
And I will continue to endure all of the scowling

The system works to keep us divided
But together we are strong
So we must unite as one
In order to go on