On July 5th, Alton Sterling was ‘executed’ (6 gunshots) by Police
after being man-handled by them. His last words were “Please don't shoot me!”
They said he had a long rap sheet and was carrying a gun on him. However, they didn't tell us he was committing any crime at the time he was
killed.
On July 6th, Philando Castile was killed (5 gunshots) in front of his
girlfriend and her 4-year old daughter. Philando had no Police record and was a
good and upstanding citizen, a role model to many children. He even worked in a
school. He also, was not committing any crime at the time he was killed.
They were not killed in self defense. In fact, they were both defenseless
and in no position to harm the officers and yet they got killed.
114 Black men have been killed in the United States in the first 186
days of this year.
Many people are silent about the killings of Blacks and the
injustice we suffer, but there is no silence as deafening as the one from the
Black African immigrant community.
The time has come for our community organizations to be known for
more than just social events.
The time has come for our community to be much more than a group
of people from different African countries.
The time has come for our community organizations to be driven by
a need for positive impact.
We can start by acknowledging the struggles of those who spilt
their blood to pave the way for the 'freedom’ that we enjoy. We should not be missing at Black History and Emancipation Day events.
We can start by helping new Black African immigrants to successfully navigate this terrain that we seem to have mastered.
Know that all Blacks are Black. A drop of Black blood in you makes you Black.
Know that the success of your Black neighbour is a success for all
Blacks and their failure is ours as well.
Know that as long as racism continues to affect your Black
brother, your ‘success’ will not protect you.
When a Black brother is killed in the US, we should shout out for
justice too. That death could have been one of yours. That son that you worked
so hard to train could have been the victim. Don't wait till it strikes you
directly before speaking out.
When a brother is killed in the US that is an opportunity for us
to come together as a community and make our voices be heard.
This is the time for our Black African Immigrant community to look
beyond every pettiness and see that we are endangered species.
This is the time for us to shirk silence and embrace community
engagement, advocacy and collaboration.
In the US, they kill our bodies but here in Canada, they kill our
Spirits.
Our children are targeted in their schools and they are neither
protected nor can they protect themselves. Instead, the educationists become
enablers to the perpetrators of the injustice against them.
80% of Black families that become involved with the CAS are
through the schools.
Black children are 5 times over-represented in the Foster Care
system.
Black people are 4 times over-represented in the criminal justice
system.
Unemployment is also high in our community.
These are issues that we should be addressing and there will be no
change until we begin to do something.
In North America, we are neither African nor African-American, we
are all BLACK. Every African descendant in North America is directly affected when something happens to any single Black in North America.
If
we Black African Immigrants don't speak out against the injustice our
African-American brethren are experiencing, why should we complain when others don’t?
