Black voices matter, in Modesto and across the United States

One of the biggest challenges for African Americans is having our voices heard.

This can be seen throughout history. Whenever we try to express concerns about how our community is being affected, the majority seems to find a way to silence us.

The current example is the Black Lives Matter movement. The founder’s main purpose was to shed light on the injustices that we face every day.

However, some people felt that BLM was stating that our lives mattered more than theirs. They retaliated by stating that “all lives matter.” Of course, all lives matter, but we are trying to make sure that ours are included.

This is a concept we fear that some white people may never truly understand, in part because they seem to overlook the historical and current wrongdoings of everything from slavery to lynching in the last century to the recent murders of George Floyd and other unarmed Black people.

White lives don’t seem to understand what it is like to be discriminated against, to be left out or to have their voices silenced simply because of the color of our skin. Truthfully, we don’t understand it either – it makes no sense. Our lives should be valued just as much as anyone else’s. Everyone’s life should be valued regardless of skin color.

Another elephant in the injustice room that seems to elude some white people is that we’re scared of law enforcement. Just this week, Modesto City Councilman Zoslocki was preaching that parents should teach their kids appropriate behavior when interacting with the police. Really?

So everyone knows, our parents do teach us the rules as children. Do white parents have to teach their kids, too?

At a young age , we’re taught what movements we are allowed to make if the cops approach us. Cooperate with them. Do not question their authority. Never reach for anything without telling them first and always make sure that you are moving slowly enough that you don’t startle them.

Isn’t it funny how we have to make sure that we do not startle them? So often, we are the ones who are vulnerable, our hearts beating out of our chest and our palms sweating, gripping the steering wheel during a traffic stop because one wrong move and we could be killed. We should not have to worry about our blackness frightening cops or why it intimidates anyone.

But, we have hope.

The recent murder conviction of Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd, is a sign that voices of the Black community can be heard. Reaching a guilty verdict in this case reassured us that justice has been served for the lost life of George Floyd and that the former Minneapolis police officer will face consequences.

Growing up in Modesto, African American history and culture weren’t commonly discussed, including in the school system. This has caused a lack of knowledge about Black people in the Unites States for both the African American community and everyone.

Our voices are left out of history books, maybe because there is too much pain to explore. Too much ignorance and denial. America, our county, struggles to face the hard truth that the foundations, the very roots, are racist, but with acknowledging the problems we can work on them.

Perhaps teaching about our country’s complicated history and successes of African Americans can help the majority see we are not “others.” We belong, and our voices, and lives, matter.

This story was originally published May 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.