Black History Month 2021

Where do I begin

People are getting arrested for crimes they didn’t commit

Just because of the colour of their skin

Just because they have more melanin

Yes, a man tried to ‘escape the police’

But that’s only because he knew he’d get beat

And so he was left to die under the officer’s knee

Begging for his life to be spared, saying “I can’t breathe”

And you’re telling me racism doesn’t exist in 2020

And no this whole movement is not a trend

You shouldn’t post on your story just ‘cos you got tagged by a friend

You shouldn’t post if you’ll go back to being racist again

What we need it for people to educate themselves instead

And there are plenty of things that society have said are not ok

Which I agree with in every single way

But what about the things that get pushed away

That are still very much relevant in the world today

Such as, euro-centric beauty standards, denial of white privilege and colour blindness, cultural appropriation, mass incarceration, hiring and housing discrimination, self -segregation

Are just some examples of covert white supremacy

That hurt people of colour physically and mentally

That make them want to change their identity

So don’t ever say these people were murdered accidentally

Racism is nothing new

Why don’t people understand that it’s true

And people that say all lives matter are part of the problem too

Because all lives will matter

When black lives do.

Millie Fontaine

June 2020