While reading this article (which you should all read) I couldn’t help but think about the hypocrisy behind the Kony movement. Especially when I got to thinking about the treatment of African Americans and other (visible) minorities on our own continent. “it was only two weeks ago when almost every white person I knew was tweeting about stopping a brutal African warlord from killing more innocent children. And they even took thirty minutes out of their busy schedules to watch a movie about dude. They bought t-shirts. Some bracelets. Even tweeted at Rihanna to take a stance. But, a 17 year old American kid is followed and then ultimately killed by a neighborhood vigilante who happens to be carrying a semi-automatic weapon and my white friends are quiet. Eerily quiet. Not even a trending topic for the young man.” It is sometimes so easy for us to sweep these issues under the rug and pretend that racism no longer exists, but it is as real and pervasive as ever and the denial that surrounds it only works to further hinder widespread progress from being made. This doesn’t mean we should only care about ourselves and our own country, but this is something that needs to serve as a solemn reminder of just how very alive racism is. Perhaps in addition to spreading news of Joseph Kony in hopes of saving Africa, individuals should also strive to acknowledge and challenge the racism and discrimination that is undoubtedly very much alive in their own communities.
“So, I fight for Trayvon Martin. I fight for Amadou Diallo. I fight for Rodney King. I fight for every young black man who looks “suspicious” to someone who thinks they have the right to take away their freedom to walk through their own neighborhood. I fight against my own stereotypes and my own suspicions. I fight for people whose ancestors built this country, literally, and who are still treated like second class citizens. Being quiet is not an option, for we have been too quiet for too long.”
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