Orlando Sentinel

What it means to be African American in 2020

- By Daniel L. Nicolas

The hour is upon us to stand up for what is plaguing our society. The saying that America is the “land of the free” pertains solely to the pigment of your skin.

Will I be followed in this store? Will I get stopped tonight for driving this late? Will they choose the white guy that’s less qualified than me for this job? Will they not employ me because of my name? These are all things that we African American men and women have to face everyday. From the moment we venture from the comfort of our homes into society it is a constant battle with the world.

Why are you scared of me? Is it because my hair isn’t straight? Is it because my skin is darker than yours? What have we done as a collective to solely receive insurmount­able hate from you? Is it not enough that our ancestors have helped build the country that you consider “land of the free,” yet everyday we are not free.

Any day could be our last and it all depends on the moral compass of a white man or woman to say that “a black man” or “a black woman” is harassing me. I am scared. We are all scared. Neverthele­ss, we shouldn’t be and won’t be intimidate­d into making us feel like we are worthless and mean nothing in a country we built. are protesting because we have had enough of the brutality, we have had enough of the killing of our brothers and sisters for no reason. Thus, it is time for our howl to be discerned.

The protests around the world are not about being violent. They are about the systematic oppression, the racism and the hardship that African Americans have to endure through every second of each day around the clock. The catalyst that ignited that fire was the death of George Floyd in Minneapoli­s by a police officer who compressed Floyd’s neck with his knee for more than eight minutes. The police force is more likely to kill our fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles and break our families apart because they are afraid of our skin color.

This atrocity needs to stop, and it stops

We will march, we will plan, and we will always fight for what is right. America needs to know we are not going anywhere and we are here to stay. You idolize us as athletes, yet fear us when walking on the streets.

We are not your enemy. You are our enemy and are plaguing the soil on which we built America on. Reform is coming, so be ready for when it strikes. You hear our cries and see our tears, now, get ready to see us rise because we won’t disappear.

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