[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Illustration courtesy of Artist, Nikkolas Smith.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
A Toronto native and daughter of two Caribbean immigrant parents, Kamille Coppin is the Online Editor for Rathnelly Group Media; Managing the online presence of both Bay Street Bull and Glory Media Magazines.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][vc_column_text]I would say I’m tired but that feels like an understatement.
I would say I’m frustrated but that feels like an understatement.
I would say my heart is broken for my community but that feels like an understatement.
I would say I am defeated, but I do not have that privilege.
There is really so much I could say about the current state of the world. In this short letter to my community, what I’d like to emphasize is the importance of doing through taking action; even in the midst of feeling hopeless.
There are black youth who have never lived in a world where they haven’t had to beg for the privilege to play, to breathe, to live.
This morning my grandmother recounted the racism she faced as a 20-something Guyanese immigrant to England in the 1960s. I realized in that moment that she would likely not see the equality and justice she’d been promised by world leaders within her lifetime.
The brutal death of George Floyd undoubtedly and rightfully outraged nations. While appalled and scared, what I felt the most was not shock. It was a strange passive numbness in which I could fully understand the gravity of the situation but felt lost in finding the motivation to fight again. However to not speak and utilize my platform to move forward the efforts of my community would be to ignore the efforts of my grandmother and mother fighting in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, and my ancestors before them.
If you are tired of seeing reports of ‘negativity’, protesting and looting in the news, or tired of hearing the black community scream that our lives matter, that black lives matter, imagine the exhaustion of my mother looking into the eyes of my two brothers time after time, teaching them how to be bulletproof.
What is needed now is a collective effort across communities to pour into the Black Lives Matter movement not only in the United States but here in Canada as racism knows no borders.
The time for ignorance and denial has passed. Today YOU can do something, YOU can help manifest equality in our community. It’s not enough to post on social media or share your support with a hashtag. Show your support by being an active member of the cause in donating, signing petitions, calling leaders in government and demanding the change. Bridge the gaps and communicate injustices with purpose.
We at Rathnelly Group Media are committed to supporting and giving a voice to the very communities that we represent. The very communities that many people would like to see silenced. In our collective effort to help the community, we are dedicated to providing our readership with resources in the days to come.
No one person can change this, it will take all of us. So, we call on you, just as we call on ourselves.. Be better, be kind, be aware and be active.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
