Is It Enough?

I can’t say I’m ‘excited’ to be living during this time. I mean, it’s difficult to live a blissful life when my black men are at an extra height of persecution. I am married to a black man and together, we have five children, three of which are young, black men. Their fate, as it stands now, is not assured or even protected as an American citizen.

However, I must admit, it is curious to live during a time when so many are paying attention. So many are paying attention to the plight of Black American Men. It’s inspiring seeing things like Stephen F. Austin’s football team take a knee, in protest, with fists raised.

I spoke with my parents, who have been married for 50 years, about the #BLM movement and how it compared to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Both of them remarked about how it felt different now. It feels different because the protests and the narrative spurned from those protests acknowledge the systemic racism.

But is it enough?

I can’t say that this is a good time in society for American Blacks. So many of us have died because of the color of our skin. But I can say that I’m proud. I’m proud to be Black and I’m proud of everyone - athletes, citizens, and police officers - that is fighting the institutional racism that has plagued our country since European colonization.