Most Black folks go through cyclical anger when a huge injustice takes place. It’s understandable to not want to remain in a place of anger or sorrow, but in the name of a future of happy feelings we must remain discontent with the current legal apparatus. Until it is no more.

If the tragedies of 2020 perpetuated by systemic racism, police violence and general inequity can’t keep us agitated for change, nothing can. We are literally breathing poisonous air while walking in skin made of suspicion.

Our discontentment must persist beyond November 3rd, no matter the outcome. We must challenge and speak up and demand freedom until the power dynamic gets exhausted with us and bends the arc of justice all the way in our direction.

They expect our outrage to be temporary and easily distracted. They strategize on ways to temper our anger. You will likely see an upcoming wave of Black folks be lauded with awards from ‘prestigious’ white institutions. Whiteness is always in conversation about how to control us

I know that Blackness as an identity marker is not monolithic. The dehumanization of Black Americans however, is a unified experience. It comes in various forms on various levels. Which is why it all must be resisted. All the time.

Violence from law enforcement is the most visceral example of Black dehumanization, but it exists in boardrooms, in academia, in the arts, in social services, in education, in the legal apparatus, everywhere. And it all must be challenged: REGULARLY.

The injustice in Breonna Taylor’s case; the savage hunting and killing of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery is both literal and metaphoric. All of these AMERICANS are actually dead at the behest of racism AND there is an underlying message America is sending us

We cannot simply vote (period, end sentence) our way out of this wilderness. As long as there is a two-party system, that system will play ‘hot potato’ with our humanity. Our vote should ALWAYS be followed with an “and”. The booth will never be a singular solution by itself.

Moral of the thread: stay dissatisfied, Black people. Stay dissatisfied after the news cycle changes. After America picks a new ‘preferred Negro’. After the new pop culture trend. After the shards are swept after the uprisings. White supremacy NEVER rests. So we can’t afford to.