The Editorial Board for Student Publications wants to make it clear; we support Black lives. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
Over the summer, we saw a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement. Today, people are protesting issues that have been present since before the United States of America was founded. At the time of Breonna Taylor’s and George Floyd’s unjust deaths, we wrote a piece in support of Black Lives Matter. Here is a portion of that piece:
“Systemic racism is not a new issue, but it has been brought into focus through media coverage of recent hate crimes against Black Americans. Police brutality, white fragility and hatred have shaken our nation to the core, and now is the time to step up and fight for justice…It is not enough to not be racist. We must strive to be anti-racist and call out injustice when it bears its teeth.”
It has been a little over three months since the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police officers. Black Americans continue to be targeted, as we have seen with Jacob Blake, Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch. Each day it seems like there is a new name to add to the ever-growing list of deaths caused by police brutality or white supremacy.
But, it cannot and will not end unless we continue to make our voices heard. Racism was a major part in the foundation of our country. This means it will take a lot of time and effort to reverse. The time for these changes is long past overdue.
Taking down systemic racism is not going to be an easy process, but it is a necessary one. We are in a war against hatred and discrimination, and no war is won with a single battle. We as a community must remain diligent. This can be done by going to protests, donating to anti-racist organizations, supporting black-owned businesses, calling your legislators and voting. These times call for more than performative activism, and we must actively fight to be on the right side of history.
In the spirit of this, we encourage students and student organizations to reach out to us at stupub@okcu.edu with letters, columns, and ideas for news stories.
It is easy for all of us to just drift through life because it gives us the path of least resistance, but we need to be vigilant and continue to fight for what we believe in, despite any obstacles.
Black Lives Matter. Black Trans Lives Matter. Black Businesses Matter. Black Artists Matter.
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