I am not okay.

Because what’s going on , is not okay.

I remember the first time I heard about police brutality, it was the case of Trayvon Martin. I must have been 13, years old. And I was horrified. It didn’t feel real. I remember I was leading up to a poetry event that time and we spoke about it. I thought maybe it would be an isolated event. Little did I know.

Then there was the cases of Michael Brown, Eric Garner. It was happening again and again

The next one I remember vividly looking at and reading about was the case of Sandra Bland. I was 16, and becoming more and more aware.

It was like, this would happen, then there would be a peaceful protest and a public outrage. Then it would calm down, then it would reload. And go back through this process. Again. And again. And again.

This year, fast forwarding now 7-5 years now. The video of Ahmaud Arbrey, jogging and was shot and killed. Now, we are just reeling the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.

It keeps on happening. It keeps happening. It won’t stop.

It got to the point where I was so angry, and I didn’t know how to place that anger and hurt. On twitter, you’d see people trying to find a justification, or to shift the blame, and it was just horrible. And it feels like as human beings we forget this is another human beings life, that has been taken, unjustly. And it keeps happening and again. And again.

This isn’t just a black problem. This isn’t just a them problem but a WE problem. As human beings we have to stand together and fight the horrific racism that just keeps coming up again and again and again. And it terrified me to the core. These are the ones we see, what about the ones we don’t see.

You know, it hit me. That, when we talk about these cases, these aren’t just “another black woman”, or another black man. This is someone’s brother. Mother. Sister. Father. Husband. Wife. Friend. Who’s life was taken away in the most horrific way, and the world sees.

We can often feel stuck. What can we do? We can speak about it. And stand up to it. Black or non black. Men women and children. Racism and hatred isn’t something innate. We aren’t born hating. We aren’t born that way. But it’s socialised within us and around us. Call it out. It isn’t just a joke, when they’re being offensive. It isn’t just a song lyric when they’re happily saying the n-word. It’s not okay. We talk about it. We educate. We don’t stop talking about it. We don’t stop fighting, and praying and speaking.

You know, as a Christian I wondered, what can I do? What would Jesus do? And I looked in the bible, and saw,

Psalms 103:6 “the Lord does righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed”

Jeremiah 22:3 “Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.”

‭‭Psalms 106:3 Blessed are those who keep justice, And he who does righteousness at all times!”

Proverbs 21:3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

‭‭The Lord Loves justice (psalms 37:28)

Jesus Christ gave us the commandments, to Love the Lord with all our heart soul mind and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves. What does that mean? It means standing with our neighbour when they’ve even hurt, just the way that we would stand up for ourselves when we’ve been hurt. It means praying for our neighbour, as we pray for ourselves. This doesn’t just mean our literal neighbour but other human beings, who are also made in the image of God! Jesus always stood up for those who were shunned by society and oppressed and overlooked by society, the leper’s, the poor, women.

Vengeance belongs to God, we don’t seek out to revenge. But it’s we seek out to promote Justice, and treat each and every single human being with compassion, with love. And we speak up and speak out for those who are oppressed, and who are dying innocently.

It’s time we stand up. It’s time, we stand together. This can’t go on anymore. This shouldn’t be happening nor can it keep happening.

Where there is no justice.

There is no peace.

No justice. No peace.

No justice. No peace.

~ TK.