The Buck Stops Here
Thank you Starbucks! You were willing to accept that there is a problem, and you are not making excuses. Instead, you are making CHANGES! H&M, Kellog, and everyone else who slipped through the cracks please take note. THIS is what black people mean when we say Black Lives Matter. Starbucks at least thought the black dollar mattered enough to close its stores for a day...
Now, you know what is more frustrating than people that are blatantly racist? People that defend and justify racist acts, people that are tolerant of prejudice behavior, and people that have mastered the act of balancing cognitive dissonance against black and brown people. I can deal with blatantly racist people because they tell you exactly who they are and you can choose to stay away from them. But to the people who claim to be lovers of everyone, the people who voted for Barack Obama so they believe they are racially accepting of black people but yet justify every act of police brutality that has been exposed in the media. To everyone who blames the victims of hate crimes because of what they were wearing or because they had weed in their systems, to all of you who opposes the NFL players’ protests during the national anthem because you can seem to accept that America STILL doesn’t treat black people justly, and to everyone who can NOT see how these men (in Starbucks) were racially profiled... you are the biggest part of the problem, more than the individuals who wear swastikas, hoods, and confederate flags, It’s you.
People who fall in the above categories get jobs at Starbucks and see two black men dressed in regular clothes and immediately think the worst. Oh, let me also clarify… there are black and brown people who fall in the above categories as well. They find themselves listed above because they might have overcome a few obstacles or perhaps they fear losing their good standing among their white friends, co-workers, or employers, IE: the police commissioner, and that one black cop seen in the video.
This story is so DISGUSTING, however, I am so glad it happened because there are so many individuals who feel like we are fabricating these stories, overreacting, or just pulling the race card. There were several white people in the Starbucks who were willing to stand up and say something. Thank you. I have noticed a tendency for people to look the other way when there is some sort of altercation involving a person of color, but these people spoke up, and while it did not stop police officers from arresting these men, your voice still matters.
I am so fearful that the next big story in the news will be one of my friends or family members...not to take anything away from the families who have already become victims of police brutality or a high profile race case; my heart goes out to you as well. I am afraid it will be someone I know soon... or it could even be me because I am not one to back down when I know I have done nothing wrong.
I work in a predominately white environment and I know that there are people who probably feel like I am not like “the rest of them,” but I am. I am “them”. I am wearing the same skin as these victims of racial profiling and so does my family and many of my friends. So, when you are making excuses for why these individuals deserved this type of treatment think about your one black friend, think about their family… In essence, you are justifying why your black friend deserves the same treatment because he or she is actually wearing that same skin, even if you “don’t see it”.
This is footage of what happened after the friend they were meeting showed up.
Please watch the following video; I had a candid conversation with 3 black men about the common misconceptions about them. Stay tuned for part 2 when I talk to a group of black women.
Visit the AABG Store for more items like this! Click the shirt...
