Say Their Names – Why Awareness of the BLM Movement Is Important

We breathe the same air, walk the same walk, and ultimately, have the same destination. It’s ironic how, through the similarities, with every reason to embrace unity and comradery, we choose to segregate based on the color of our skin.

Wouldn’t it be easier if we all were the same pigment? Perhaps this is why people constantly pursue having the common scarlet inside us surface.

Flogged, ridiculed, and murdered, many have fallen due to the epidemic of discrimination.

They are gone but certainly not forgotten. Let’s discuss why awareness of the BLM movement is important.

Stronger Together

Learning how to tackle situations individually is essential, but there is only so far one can go when faced with an enemy like racism. Alone, you are strong; together, you are unstoppable. Raising awareness sets off a chain reaction, like dominos falling toward your inevitable destination. And this reaction can only be triggered if there is awareness.

Awareness educates people and, more importantly, gives them the courage to persevere and face adversity head-on.

Through Tyranny

Racism against people of color has been an epidemic that has tainted the sanctity of all that the United States stands for. From slavery and tyranny to White Supremacists, particularly the Ku Klux Klan, African Americans have been fighting for their freedom for centuries.

It wasn’t until 1964 that the Civil Rights Acts gave people a voice and a sense of protection, for it officially prohibited segregation and discriminatory practices.

But the war on racism didn’t end there. Even though there were systemic changes and laws regulating discriminatory practices, the nation’s hearts were still cold, and segregation was rampant.

The outcome? Multiple lives were lost due to suicide, murders, and, yes, police brutality.

The Power of Awareness

Sir Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, and his famous speech profoundly impacted our lives. He ignited the thirst for freedom, regardless of dark skin. Since then, it was almost as if this passion was bubbling up; a seismic change was set in stone, a bomb waiting to explode.

And on the 25^th of May, 2020, the world witnessed the final nail in the coffin of tolerance.

Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, brutally murdered a 46-year-old, innocent black American man named George Floyd.

George spoke his last words for the millions of African Americans shrouded in discrimination, saying, “I can’t breathe.”

And just like that, after his passing, the world took to the streets, from Minneapolis to France, for the first time in years; it seemed as though the world was listening.

George Floyd wasn’t the only name being proclaimed and highlighted; but all other individuals who fell victim to racial tyranny.

The world saw the power of awareness: Heyward Patterson, Katherine Massey, Breonna Taylor, Ruth Whitfield, and many others.

Say their names; spread awareness.

Author Lori Schneider, with her brilliant anthology of poetry, A Brighter TOMORROW, highlights the need for racial justice in a country damned by prejudice. Her book creates a seismic impact, leading newer generations to be the light of hope.