The hell with a grand jury!— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) May 6, 2020
That’s how they protected the murderers of #EricGarner #TamirRice and many others.
It’s a tool to protect white supremacists when they murder Black people.#AhmaudArber was MURDERED in cold blood for #BeingBlackWhileJogging.#ArrestTheMcMichaels pic.twitter.com/Vv2IUSlI5D
I refuse to watch that video of Brother Ahmaud being
slaughtered in the middle of the day like a young suckling pig caged next to
his final resting place – the offset smoker.
Racist White people (and bootlicking house Negroes not to
mention prejudiced people of color who benefited from their own brand of
privilege who have their own documented histories of anti-Blackness) revel in
Black pain as if that is the only part of our humanity they want to see.
Not the graduations.
Not the marriages and births.
Not the day we become homeowners.
Not the relief that comes from overdue promotions and raises
from our jobs.
Not the day we set sail from the corporate plantation to
open our own small businesses.
Not the days when our babies are photographed standing next
to the front door on their very first days of school.
Not the smiling faces on vacation with sand between the toes
and pitchers of Miller Lite flowing on cruise ships and in casinos like milk
and honey.
Not the jubilation when an individual makes his or her
decision to join the Christian faith and secure eternal life. (More on that
below)
Only death and distraught faces matter to them – and the
dastardly agents of malice would ask if we forgive them for taking away a
brother, a coworker, a friend, a relative, a neighbor, etc. Have they no shame?
The real reason why I refuse to watch Brother Ahmaud’s
lynching is that the motherfuckers who did will more than likely get away with
it because this is how the American justice system is set up. One can also
agree that his very own being “in the wrong place” is what set him up for this
fate, but let us play devil’s advocate:
In a free-ish nation for Black people since approximately 1973 or so,
the laws established in this nation have not always been used to our advantage
– rather, survival. Surely a man jogging through a neighborhood is not cause
for extrajudicial attention, but sadly, it is – and I have my own experiences
to share:
I used to run most mornings before life got in the way. I had a similar experience; the differences are 1)I'm here to tell about it, and 2)the BNPD officer who talked with me offered me a ride back to my apartment. Can't remember his name now, but he was calm the entire time.— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) May 7, 2020
Maybe because I was looking for a new route (Saline County is trash when it comes to safe spaces for bikers and runners) and I saw the elevations of Hurricane Lake Estates. I knew to keep my keys and ID, but maybe going in an A-shirt and gym shorts gave the complainant cause...— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) May 7, 2020
...to call Benton PD. I think she was a bit racist [black man running at 8 am to stay in shape tends to unnerve some wypipo, I guess] but given the gated community, this was to be expected. Any count, I found a new route - about four miles round trip westward.— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) May 7, 2020
Tone determines HOW situations change for the better or worse. I can't speak for Ahmed since I refuse to watch the video, but I cannot imagine jogging and looking at a new construction home in a neighborhood would be considered a capital offense. Both men need to be questioned.— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) May 7, 2020
While I understand that jogging in basketball shorts and an
A-shirt is not a good look now, it was hot that morning! The officer did give
me a ride back to our apartment in the front seat of his Crown Vic, and I ultimately
changed my route for a westward one. I know it seems funny to a number of you
that I used to be in decent shape considering the affable fat guy I am today, but
maybe the older white people in a ‘prominent’ gated community saw a young Black
man jogging and stopping in front of new construction to catch a breath and
assumed I was up to no good. Kind of what Greg and Travis McMichael and their other buddy
thought of Ahmaud.
I'm feeling this picture y'all.— 🇯🇲Black🇭🇹Aziz🇳🇬aNANsi🇹🇹 (@Freeyourmindkid) May 10, 2020
Prints are available at: https://t.co/WhRqrwlDBx pic.twitter.com/zPKo3CAhB6
I know how close I’ve been to becoming a hashtag. THIS IS
WHY I TELL MY STORIES.
Ask the Avon PD.
Ask the Conway PD.
Y’all know the Haskell PD terrifies me.
If being Black is a crime, then dammit, I’m guilty as
charged.
For 401 years, we sang songs. We complied. We went to
school. We stayed on our side of the tracks. We dressed nicely. We drank from
the tainted water fountains we were relegated to. We were often more highly
educated and financially savvy than our limited occupations would leave one to
believe. We hugged it out. We extended invitations to the proverbial cookout. We
protested peacefully. We stayed home during COVID-19. We shared the culture.
We even embodied LOVE AND FORGIVENESS. As a matter of fact, we played nice with
our respectability conduct. Where has that gotten us in 2020?
Dead and bloated, to paraphrase the late Stone Temple Pilots
frontman Scott Weiland.
I wrote about how, for a small but powerful segment of the country, the COVID crisis ceased to be an emergency requiring extraordinary measures the moment it was clear black and hispanic people were disproportionately suffering from it. https://t.co/AqyLrhWWhY— Adam Serwer🍝 (@AdamSerwer) May 8, 2020
Speaking of being, I want everyone to note the not-so-coded
descriptions of both victim and perpetrators alike. “Good Christian men” has
become quite the misnomer – what if Ahmaud had also professed the faith years
ago? Is he eligible for eternal paradise, or is that reserved only for a paler
Southern hue with the trappings that a career in law enforcement (or in some
cases, being adjacent to the good ol’ boy culture of white privilege)? These
days, “good Christian men” is code for white supremacists not so much as to not
break rank in protecting their own but also to reinforce their unspoken racial
conduct of being above the laws written to control everyone else. As the
slandering of Mr. Arbery by prosecutors, judges, the media, politicians waiting
to capitalize their fifteen seconds of fame, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, President Donald Trump, and
others revs up, be prepared for an onslaught of how our own neighbors,
coworkers, friends, and even family members view these events from their narrow
prisms and if necessary, remove them from our lives.
I can’t do this shit anymore. Fuck that, I WON'T do this shit.
If seeking peace by using a peacemaker is the way to get my message across, then so be it.This piece...short and to the point, and with the most heartbreaking and true first line I've possibly ever read...— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) May 9, 2020
"Like all Black Americans, Ahmad Arbery was born a trespasser."https://t.co/2wJLktlmLS
If taking our collective dollars out of the economy gets
people to pay attention, then so be it.
If pointing out inconvenient truths in American history
is enough to end friendships or get whiny-ass, bitch-ass snowflakes in my
mentions talking about I hurt their feelings or I’m being racist, then FUCK
YOU. I PUT THAT ON EVERYTHING.
I’m not going to wait and be a sucker nor will I risk my
loved ones.
What I WILL DO is tell my five-year-old daughter this:
Live freely.
Dream big.
Jog like Ahmaud.
Chill like Botham and Atatiana.
Play your music to your heart’s content like Jordan.
Walk wherever your feet take you like Mike.
Give God all of His praises like the Charleston Nine.
Eat Skittles and drink Arizona tea like Trayvon.
Shop like John.
Read like Keith.
Breathe like Eric.
Exercise your Second Amendment rights like Philando.
Be the change this world sorely needs.
You are BLACK, BEAUTIFUL, AND PROUD.
Not only are you our Little Bear, but you are also God’s
child.
No one has the audacity to take that away from you.
No one has the audacity to take that away from you.
