Black History Month - 365 Days a Year

The last day of February marks the last day of Black History Month. What did you do this month to honour Black history? Did you learn anything new? Read a new book? Make a new friend? Support a Black-owned business? Donate to a Black organization?

Most people want to live a cushy life. They just want to have fun, laugh, and not worry about things they feel are out of their control. Most people, companies, organizations don’t care about the truth. They don’t care about people’s struggles other than their own. They want to live their cushy lives, do the bare minimum, get paid, and enjoy life. Unless something directly affects them, they either don’t pay attention, don’t care, or don’t even believe that something exists as a real issue.

I am not most people. I used to be. Until I had children, and everything changed. I could no longer bury my head in the sand. I could no longer ignore the atrocities in our own backyard. And as painful as it can be, opening our eyes to the truth is the only thing that allows us to begin to help change it.

But most people just want to live their life.

Well, in case I need to remind you: Black people just want to live their life. Indigenous people just want to live their life. Asian people just want to live their life. Muslim people just want to live their life.

But they don’t get to just LIVE their LIFE. They get to live a life full of fear, of microaggressions, of hatred disguised as jokes, of struggling to have the same success as we do while having to put in twice (thrice?) the work. They live a life of never being fully accepted in society.

So, I understand that you don’t want to do the work to dismantle the institutions that you DIDN’T put up. You didn’t do it. You weren’t there. And you don’t do it now. So, I get that you just want to live your life as you feel you are entitled to. But what about the rest of your people? What about your friend, neighbour, co-worker, boss, your children’s friends? Don’t they deserve your help? Don’t they deserve for you to stand up for them when required? Don’t they deserve your voice when theirs is not being listened to?

It’s not about admitting that you are racist or that you have inner work to do to dismantle white supremacy within yourself (although trust me, we do need to do that as well). It’s about learning about the systems that are currently—not historically—currently hurting our people. We are all one. We all deserve love, understanding, compassion, and allies.

The prison system, the educational system (book banning anyone?), the systems of oppression that continue to keep down those who are oppressed. If we don’t learn how these systems are harmful, then how will we know how to dismantle them? Yes, the work is going to be uncomfortable. I am currently in a very uncomfortable phase where I don’t even know how to behave around Black strangers anymore. I freeze up and constantly worry that I will say the wrong thing (which I certainly did say the wrong thing). But that’s all part in parcel. We will make mistakes. We will say the wrong thing. We will move backwards before moving forwards.

But we don’t stop.

Racism is so rooted in our history that we don’t even recognize it.

People are facing a WAR, bombs falling around them, and yet, they still have time to be fucking racist. HOW?!?!? It makes my blood boil. And what makes me even angrier is that it doesn’t make everyone’s blood boil. Why aren’t more people angry about this? 

Side story: I watched the latest episode of Workin’ Moms last night, and Anne was forced to take anger management classes. I’ve always kind of had a disliking to Anne, which usually means there’s something about the character that I can relate to in some way that I subconsciously don’t like about myself. In this episode is when I realized it. She’s so angry all the time. And while I have come a long way with controlling my anger, I do still feel angry quite often. 

In this episode, Anne was asked why she was so angry. And eventually, she said something along the lines of “…the state of the world! You’d have to be crazy NOT to be angry!” I really felt that. That’s how I feel all the time. How come more people are not angrier about shit?!

Why don’t more people recognize the blatant racism that is being displayed in the news coverage about this war? Is this war more important because the majority of people affected are white? Initially, I thought more people care about this war simply because more people are aware of it. With social media being our main news source for the younger generation, we see a variety of perspectives. Or maybe it’s because my generation is older now and we are more aware of the politics of the world. But then I see videos of complete disregard for Black and brown people trying to get out of Ukraine. White people first. Black people last. Still. In 2022. It is fucking breaking my heart. Women and children first? Sure, fine. But make damn sure it is ALL women and children.

So, today is the last day of Black History Month. According to the calendar. Because it’s the last day of February. But as Dr. Yaba Blay says, “It’s not the last day of anything.”

What are you doing tomorrow, and next week, next month, and next year?

Me? I will continue doing what I do every day. Listen to the voices of the global majority who are telling us, and been telling us. Continue reading books by Black authors. Continue following Black influencers and their friends. Continue amplifying their voices whenever and wherever I can. Continue to speak my voice when it is required to highlight where we need to do better. Continue finding ways to teach my children that we are all equal. This is the only way forward.

I will continue my journey—every day for the rest of my life—to be a better ally, a better anti-racist, a better accomplice.

Because if not me, then who? If not you, then who? If not us, then who?