I read a Medium post last week by Michelle Elizabeth wherein she was expressing how tired she is of talking about race. She is tired of having to deal with the pressure and feelings of race being at the center of everything she does and everywhere she goes. She is tired of having to explain to those who aren’t Black that the challenges Black people deal with are real. She also said it made her feel like she wanted to escape and live in a bubble where people just left her alone and to live in a society where skin color and ethnic background doesn’t matter.

I get it.

It gets old.

In fact, every black person in America gets it. It does get old. And quite frankly, it’s exhausting. Despite that, we can’t stop talking about it and we can’t stop pushing until racial equity is achieved. When I compare the struggle(s) that Black people in the Civil Rights movement endured so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today, what we’re doing now seems to pale in comparison. During that time, hundreds of people lost their lives and/or were beaten. Their homes and communities were burned down and what little wealth they had was destroyed. Fortunately, the sacrifices of those in the generation before mine are paying off. The Civil Rights Act was a landmark achievement. We mustn’t forget that getting to that point took years.

Now, we’re fighting a different fight. We’re fighting to change a national perspective that the barriers of systemic racism don’t exist anymore. THIS IS FAR FROM TRUE. We’re fighting for fair representation in board rooms and on leadership teams. We’re fighting for better resources for inner city schools. We’re fighting for fair treatment by the police. We’re fighting for fair lending from banks. We’re fighting for fair political representation. We’re fighting for a lot of things. And even though we have a long road ahead, I believe we’re making progress.

Let’s keep moving forward.

Cheers – KM

Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash