My Experience as a minority in my community in New York.
I am Afro-Latino and want to see justice served. I want to see my people be able to walk outside without being harassed and targeted because of their skin color.
I want to see the police officers who involved in that horrible murdering of George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery get 1st degree murder, not just a slap on the wrist and have 10 years in prison.
Sadly, Justice hasn’t been served in the Breonna Taylor case which only one of the officers were charged with wanton endangerment. This means he was being reckless and caused issues with the neighbors. So a Wall is more important than a Black Woman’s life SMH. This is why we kneel!!!!! My prayers are with Breonna Taylor’s family and friends. We will continue the fight for social justice!!!!✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
Police Brutality has going on for decades, while Black Bodies have been cremated over and over again. This is not because of one “Bad Cop”, this is because of the white system that has allowed it to happen.
Check your Privilege. If you see whats going on and haven’t spoken up, look yourself in the mirror and address it.
If you are offended, thats means you are part of problem. Plain and Simple.
REAL JUSTICE.
East Harlem is a small community; many people are striving for better as they go to work, school, etc. As things change, some things remain the same.
Poverty. Crime. Homelessness. Lack of Resources for people of color like myself.
On 125th street and Lenox, Pathmark closed because of bankruptcy a couple years ago, so people who shopped there had to go to another supermarket in the area. A year ago, Whole Foods opened its doors for people who didn’t have access to quality, healthy food could get it. This was a great thing for people who didn’t know where to get their groceries from other than a bodega, which is not good at all.
I remember walking down the stairs to the train station on 135th street and saw 12 police officers right behind me. They were supposedly “protecting” the back door to see if someone didn’t pay their fare.
Policing is something I witness daily, as police cars patrol the neighborhood throughout the day and night.
Majority of the time, the police will park in one spot and stay there for an hour, 2 hours, or more. I remember a time where I was coming home from school and when I entered the building, someone was running and a police officer was behind the person, handcuffed him, etc.
My reaction was of shock and silence. As I am writing this, a police car siren went off in the background outside. My community is a predominately Hispanic and Black area, Policing seems to be at its highest.
There’s police on the buses, police on the subways, police near a park or building, they are everywhere. Its very difficult , but I have no choice but to do everything in my power to improve my family and communities lives.
The World is watching.
History is being made.
400 years of Institutional Racism:
Slavery: 1619-1865
Black Codes: 1865-1866
KKK: 1865-Present
Jim Crow: 1877-1954
RedLining: 1934-1968
War on Drugs: 1971-Present
Mass Incarceration: 1973-Present
Three strikes Law: 1993-Present
We Kneel.
Ya”ll mad.
We march.
Ya”ll mad.
We Protest.
Y”all mad.
We die.
Y”all silent.
This is a political post because as a minority who has witnessed the atrocites of police brutality, poverty, deplorable housing, Gentifrication, Poor schools, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
We are told this is the “land of the free” but we are not free. We are still in handcuffs 400 years later.
Hopefully, One Day, I and many others like me can exist in a world where we aren’t judged by the color of skin, but by our character.
BLACK LIVES MATTER.
My heart breaks for You, it is an awful mindless situation that should not be happening. Keep safe and stay strong.
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It is hard to wrap my head around. Why is this still happening? I feel at times we have learnt nothing. Know your blogging community is standing with you for what it is worth.
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Thank you for writing this. I honestly believe that things have gotten worse in the last three years. I try to be optimistic that someday, and it may not be in my lifetime, that all this crap will end and folks will just see others as just folks. All, I can say, is that we need to vote for candidates that have empathy and will actually try to do something to help rather that things that incite. Keep writing and we will keep reading and sharing.
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Thank you for writing this. My heart breaks for you and your people and this situation has definitely made me realise I need to do better. I stand with you.
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Thanks for sharing this wonderful post. Everything you said is right. Everyone deserves to be respected. But sadly, everything is happening so fast and for the worst. I am so sorry! Thank you for writing this. You are strong!
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I am sorry about what’s happening to you. My prayers are with you.
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Thank you for sharing this. My heart is breaking over this situation and the fact that it has continued for so long, with so many lives lost or ruined as a result of skin colour. The world is listening and I hope and pray that change is now happening. I stand with you.
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Thank you for sharing this. I can’t even begin to imagine what it feels like. I stand with you.
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I’m from NY. I know. I have definitely seen some shit growing up in the Bronx and moving around the city. I have my doubts on whether anything good will take place, but I’m still riding and fighting. You definitely ain’t alone. We (the oppressed warriors) got you!
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Great post. It’s always baffled me how America claims to be the land of the free and the defender of freedom and liberty, while at the same time doing everything it can to deny those things to most it’s citizens. Not once has America lived up to the ideal with which it was supposedly created on ✊🏾
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I stand with you. Let’s revolutionize the system, not just a trend but a change of auttitutudes. Equality for all! Thank you for helping to educate.
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Thank you for writing this. It is undeniable and inexcusable that this is still happening in our country in 2020. I know I am voting for change, educating myself, and praying.
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“We are told this is the “land of the free” but we are not free. We are still in handcuffs 400 years later.” This and the last paragraph hit me the hardest out of everything written in this post.
Truth is after slavery was abolished with the 13th amendment, racism never ended there as some would like. It just took on a different form (KKK) and then another once that was ended, then another (Jim Crow). It’s a disease that has been mutating and evolving. We need to find a bulletproof cure for this once and for all. I hope this movement can be that very cure.
I read your comment on my blog a few days and it gripped me so deeply. I appreciate the love and empathy you’ve been sharing of late and I’m glad you discovered my blog. I hope you’re staying safe and staying strong through these tough times my brother.
Johnny | Johnny’s Traventures
https://johnnystraventures.com
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Thank you so much for sharing this. A powerful post. You deserve to be heard. And you are completely right. I want to live in a country where people are not treated differently because of the color of their skin.
Silence and inaction have plagued this nation for far too long. It is shameful. Enough is enough! We need systemic change and we need it NOW. Stay strong & stay safe. Know that you are not alone.
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Thank you so much for sharing this, my heart break so much because am black and I know what it feels to be neglected and harass because of your skin color, just know that I stand with you.
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Thanks a lot for sharing and speaking up on this issue. My heart is with you and I pray that you achieve what you are aiming for. All the best.
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Nice blog
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Thank you for sharing your personal experiences. Second-degree murder, what the officers are being charged with, can have a sentencing of lifetime imprisonment. Hopefully that happens in this case.
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Racism in this country has to stop being ignored, and I am glad that there are people out there standing up to it. Police brutality is out there, alive and well, and I am glad that it is being stood up to today. Thank you for writing about your experiences!
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Thanks for sharing your experiences. Such an important issue to address and I’m glad it’s getting the attention it deserves.
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Thank you for speaking so candidly about your experiences and for helping raise more awareness for such an important issue. Things have to change and quickly!
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Wow. This is powerful. I cannot even begin to imagine how you must feel, or what you have been through. . . I am hurt, scared, and scandalised by what is and has been happening, and you must feel a million times worse. It never fails to amaze me just how low people can sink. I hope we live to see a world where fairness and justice is truly given to all people.
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All the power to you. Hope this ends soon for good.
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Thank you for writing this. It is important, and it is very powerful.
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I am from Singapore, and although I cannot say that racism does not exist in my country, it breaks my heart to see what is happening in America. The energy in the protests has touched my heart, and I wish y’all all the best. I pray that things will finally change for the better. Thanks for sharing!
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I’m really sorry that this is something you are going through. It is awful that a country with that much advancement and development is still unable to shake off that racist mindset; still can’t truly apply freedom as a concept not just a slogan.
I honestly feel for you and your people and pray that one day life will be more peaceful and justice will be served.
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It’s people like you, that live iin these areas, that know what’s really going on. Awful, so awful, to not have your character appreciated, and stereotyped, which is so predominant in many countries. Thanks for this, an eye-opener
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Thank you for sharing this. There are so many, who needed this message! Blessings to you.
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Wow! I enjoyed reading this! It’s so sad that we live in the world that we do and the fact your striving to beat the odds is remarkable!!!
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A brilliantly written piece of writing that makes you think. It’s unbelievable how people act and perceive those different to them.
I realise it’s not the same, and I will never fully understand, but I do know what it’s like to be the minority and to have people treat you differently due to disability.
Stay safe and keep on being you.
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