Ahaumd Arbery
It is 5:47 am, and I have just woken up from a terrible dream. I dreamt that a white male followed me home. He did not believe that the home that I own was mine. He did not believe that I could own a house in the neighborhood which I live. He did not believe that the car I drove was a car that I have paid for on my own since college. He could not fathom that the life I have was mine and so he thought it was his right to take it from me. I know very clearly why I had this dream tonight...Ahaumd Arbery.
Social media has never been a platform I have used to speak about political or racial issues, I tend to keep my opinions on those matters to myself for fear of offending or upsetting a colleague or a friend. I will NOT fear that anymore. As teachers we are told to teach kindness, to spread kindness, to model kindness. By doing these things we will some how mold little kind human beings. I agree with this notion partially. There are a few other things we need to teach:
1. Racial inequalities and not just Martin Luther King, because unfortunately he has died but the inequalities did NOT die with him.
2. Social injustice. We need to teach not just our children, but our siblings, our parents our family that social injustice comes in many shapes and forms. You, whether black, white, blue, or purple are responsible for knowing what it may look like and NOT standing for it.
3. Ignorance. We must...oh we absolutely must teach about ignorance. If you choose to be oblivious to what is happening in the world you are behaving ignorantly. Period. Ignorance can break even the strongest of people.
My dream ended with me begging my white neighbors to tell the man I lived in MY house. My white husband came home and helped to deescalate the situation. In my dream I held no power because of the color of my skin. I am fully aware that this was just dream. I did not wake up scared from the dream. I woke up terrified that the dream I had could be real life. It could be my life, it could be my cousins lives, it could be parents lives and probably the most horrific feeling is that it could be my future child's life.
On our walk yesterday my husband and I spoke at length about Ahaumd Arbery. We talked about our lives in connection. We talked about the men that did this to him. We talked about so many things. But mainly we talked about what should NOT of happened.
I am so tired of talking about what should not have happened. It is time, actually it past time that our nation changes. I can not do much for the rest of the world, but I know that Bobby Berg and I will raise kind human beings that are undeniably aware of racial inequalities, social injustice, and ignorance. They will be aware of their privlage as biracial children but more so aware of the challenges they will face simply due to the color of their skin.
What I understand now more than ever before is that I am not seperate or apart from these events. I honestly had not allowed anything before to come this close to my heart, but walking in my neighborhood is something I do everyday. It could happen.
We are NOT living in a dream. This is real. It is happening. And it is time to Wake Up.
#ahaumdarbery #runwithahaumad #irunwithahmaud #IRunWithMaud
Peace, Love, and kindness.
-ballinwiththebergs
Social media has never been a platform I have used to speak about political or racial issues, I tend to keep my opinions on those matters to myself for fear of offending or upsetting a colleague or a friend. I will NOT fear that anymore. As teachers we are told to teach kindness, to spread kindness, to model kindness. By doing these things we will some how mold little kind human beings. I agree with this notion partially. There are a few other things we need to teach:
1. Racial inequalities and not just Martin Luther King, because unfortunately he has died but the inequalities did NOT die with him.
2. Social injustice. We need to teach not just our children, but our siblings, our parents our family that social injustice comes in many shapes and forms. You, whether black, white, blue, or purple are responsible for knowing what it may look like and NOT standing for it.
3. Ignorance. We must...oh we absolutely must teach about ignorance. If you choose to be oblivious to what is happening in the world you are behaving ignorantly. Period. Ignorance can break even the strongest of people.
My dream ended with me begging my white neighbors to tell the man I lived in MY house. My white husband came home and helped to deescalate the situation. In my dream I held no power because of the color of my skin. I am fully aware that this was just dream. I did not wake up scared from the dream. I woke up terrified that the dream I had could be real life. It could be my life, it could be my cousins lives, it could be parents lives and probably the most horrific feeling is that it could be my future child's life.
On our walk yesterday my husband and I spoke at length about Ahaumd Arbery. We talked about our lives in connection. We talked about the men that did this to him. We talked about so many things. But mainly we talked about what should NOT of happened.
I am so tired of talking about what should not have happened. It is time, actually it past time that our nation changes. I can not do much for the rest of the world, but I know that Bobby Berg and I will raise kind human beings that are undeniably aware of racial inequalities, social injustice, and ignorance. They will be aware of their privlage as biracial children but more so aware of the challenges they will face simply due to the color of their skin.
What I understand now more than ever before is that I am not seperate or apart from these events. I honestly had not allowed anything before to come this close to my heart, but walking in my neighborhood is something I do everyday. It could happen.
We are NOT living in a dream. This is real. It is happening. And it is time to Wake Up.
#ahaumdarbery #runwithahaumad #irunwithahmaud #IRunWithMaud
Peace, Love, and kindness.
-ballinwiththebergs
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