I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired over racism and police violence

I’m angry, I’m frustrated, and I’m hurt. More importantly, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.

It’s not just the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery that we have witnessed over the past several weeks. It’s all of the senseless murders we have witnessed by racist police officers and vigilantes.

I remember growing up in Flint, Michigan, attending Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and first learning about Emmett Till and seeing pictures of his mangled face. We learned about King’s life and legacy, how the peaceful protesters he led were beaten by police, bitten by dogs, and sprayed with water hoses.

I remember the teachings of slavery and how our ancestors were raped, beaten and murdered. I remember images of black men hanging from trees. I learned how every great black leader we’ve ever had has been murdered, locked away, or discredited.

I remember thinking to myself as a little black boy in the early 1990s: “Wow! I’m glad I didn’t have to live through that stuff.” But here I am in 2020, having borne witness to Walter Scott being shot in the back while running away from a white cop and Michael Brown’s body lying in the street for hours after a white cop shot him.

Some 25 years later, I’m reading about white people calling the police on black people for doing nothing wrong — for having a cookout at a park, selling water, bird watching, jogging, delivering packages, sleeping, driving.

Why won’t they leave us alone? Why do they treat us like second class citizens? No matter how much money we have, how many degrees we earn, it seems they only judge us by the color of our skin.

I’m sick of it. More so, I’m sick of those who stand by silent and say nothing about these racist and unjust acts and wonder why we are so angry.

If I felt this way as a black boy, how do you think our young black boys and girls feel right now? Are we still being viewed as three-fifths of a person? Are freedom, justice and equality too much to ask for?

What do these terms mean to a black person? To me, they mean having the opportunity to fulfill and maximize my potential and abilities without anyone deliberately halting my progress based on the color of my skin.

I want the freedom to come and go as I please without looking over my shoulder, the freedom to think, speak, eat, breathe and provide for my family. I want the judicial system to work when black people are treated unfairly or brutalized by those who swore an oath to protect.

I know racism will never completely go away. But I also know that my people and I will no longer stand by quietly and allow racists to openly display their hate without facing consequences.

I also know that we as black people cannot fight this alone. We need everyone’s help if we are truly going to change.

When Malcom X returned from Mecca, his opinion of white people had changed. No longer did he believe that all white people were racist devils. He had witnessed true brotherhood: Muslims of every race from around the world, gathered at one place to worship as brothers.

Since the murder of George Floyd, we have witnessed people of every gender and race protesting together, calling for an end to racism and police brutality. We know that all white people are not racist, just like we know that all police officers are not bad. We also know that going forward, those who are racist must be called out and cannot be in any position of authority.

Malcolm reflected on how he had responded to white people who had asked how they could help. Before, he had been reluctant to accept their assistance. But that changed once he returned.

“Where the really sincere white people have got to do their ‘proving’ of themselves is not among black victims, but out on the battle lines of where America’s racism really is – and that’s in their own home communities,” he said. “America’s racism is among their own fellow whites. That’s where the sincere whites who really mean to accomplish something have got to work.”

Please continue on this journey of freedom, justice and equality with me and my people. Police your own people and call them out on their racism.

We should all be sick and tired of being sick and tired.