White privilege is having a problem being told No!
As black people we have heard the word No! so much we are immune to the cut and sting of its meaning. Since our people were brought over on ships hundreds of years ago, the word No! has been a part of our existence. We have been told No! we can’t have our original names, No! we can’t gather and worship when and where we want, No! we cannot spend time with our friends and family, No! we can’t go and come as we please, No! we cannot receive medical attention when needed, and No! we cannot have the food we desire; instead we must eat what is available to us. So, this new normal, feels normal to people of color. Being quarantined and told where we can go, what we can do, and when we can do it doesn’t affect us the way that it affects white privilege.
The fragile stability of white privilege has been shaken to its core.
We as black people know how to survive, how to make it, and how to help others. We have learned over the years that we have to take care of each other, because no one else is going to take care of us. We’ve learned when there’s no food, you make do with what you have, and share it with your neighbor. We’ve learned when your children don’t have daycare, you take the baby’s to mama’s house, grandma’s house, mema’s house, madea’s house, your aunties house, your sister’s house, your cousin’s house, your neighbor’s house; the village takes care of their own.
We, as a people, but especially black women, have endured the word No! and its implications, but we’ve never allowed the word to define who we are and who we will become. We are survivors. Our will to live and protect kicks into high gear and our autopilot takes over. We don’t know anything else but survival. We know how to pray without ceasing, we know how to make something out of a little bit, we know how to come together – even when we aren’t together – to make things happen. This is not new to us.
See, the new normal is not so new. It’s white privilege that is being shaken out of their safe space. It’s our normal, not having enough money, not having enough supplies, not having enough food. It’s not the new normal, it’s just normal.
So, when white privilege storms the capitol of Michigan heavily armed and defying police orders to disperse without arrests, bloodshed, or any repercussions, they need to understand they are still enjoying the privilege of being white in America. White privilege takes over the streets of Huntington Beach to force government officials to open the beaches. Rather than being treated like the “white privilege temper tantrum” that it is, they receive exactly what they want, in-spite of health risks. Again, white privilege doesn’t get told No!
We must remember as people of color, we don’t enjoy white privilege. Any one of those protests would have had a different outcome had the majority of people protesting been black. We would have received harsh warnings followed by pepper-spray, tasers, arrests, beatings, and possible fatalities. I mean really, can you imagine a group of armed black men storming any capitol building in the United States? Bloodshed would have ensued. But again, the new normal is only new to white privilege.
I am a black woman living in America, with a husband, 21-year-old son, and 27-year-old daughter. I worry about them daily and pray for them constantly. The safest place for my family right now in the midst of the crazy is at home – I guess that’s not true either if we look at Breonna Taylor, or Botham Jean – No, the safest place for them and every other person of color in America is in the will and arms of God. We are expendable to a large portion of this country, so our mere existence relies on our faith, determination, and self-preservation.
This is far from over and white privilege is going to continue to be uncomfortable with their new normal. That is a good thing. They need to understand the fragile state people of color have been living in for years and continue to live in. This is not the new normal for us, it’s just normal.
Be beautifully blessed, and always remember to “Pause, Breathe, and Exhale!”
Amy
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