What Does Black Lives Matter mean to me? My father was born in Hope, Arkansas. A place my father would never take me to visit, no matter how much I begged and plead with him to take me with him when he returned to the south. It would be only when my grandfather passed away that my father would take his children to return to the south for his father's funeral. Many years later, I would understand why he didn't want his children to visit the south.
I remember at a very early age; my siblings and I being given the talk. If you are ever stopped by the police say yes sir and yes ma'am. Whenever you go to the store make sure anything you buy at the store is put into a paper bag, so they won't accuse you of stealing. It wasn't explained any further. I remember, after returning from the show and walking down the street with my boyfriend and the police pulled up and stopped us. He was put on the car and searched for no reason at all. I stood in silence and watched. The police released him and told him to go. He was very angry and at the age of 15, I didn't really get it. All I knew he was stopped for no reason.
I tell these stories because I have seen and experienced the pain of my skin being used against me. I have seen the pain of my sons and the destruction of their self-esteem because they are black men. How my son, while waiting for me to pick him up after work was always harassed by the police each night in Orange County, CA. How police arrested him on false charges, only later to release him, saying it was the wrong person. Each time they arrest our children, even though the charges are dismissed or dropped the system is building a record for them. I, as many parents didn't know a person must go and pay to have those false charges removed from their record. If they ever get into trouble all those false charges will show up as that person having a record. Stating he or she has been arrested several times. It is all in the game in the system of racism.
I look back and I wonder how being arrested by the police went from being hand cuffed behind a person back while standing, to having the person sit on the curb, to now having them lay on the ground face down. Sending the message to them that they are dirt and worthless.
When asked what Black Lives Matter means to me. It means having freedom to walk and drive in peace without being harassed because of the color of my skin. It means that our children have value in society. Our children have always had value to us. We want our children to be valued in the United States. See us and treat us with respect and dignity. We are humans and we too love our children also. Black Lives Matter would not exist if we had the rights and privilege of being seen a human instead of being seen as less than human.
I want my grandchildren to be free of the fear of being killed by the police because of the color of their skin. Black Lives Matter is not just the next in thing to say or do. It is reality for all African Americans in this country. When the dust settles, African American want to say, I no longer have to give the talk. We no longer have the fear of walking while black and driving while black. Being caged for years for being black, and most of all being killed for being black. Black Lives Matter.
Written by Karen Chava Knox