Tonight I stared my babies in the eyes and saw their beauty and potential staring back at me. Mini is this wonderful, quick-witted, strong willed, stunning little girl who has the energy of an unbroken stallion. And my abc… She’s the sweet bundle of giggles who sees everything. Nothing gets past her. These are my girls, my breath, my future.
But how will the world see them?
Trayvon Martin. Eric Garner. John Crawford. Ezell Ford. Dante Parker. Tamir Rice. Countless names. The body counts rising daily. And all of them had mothers that looked them in their eyes and saw what I see in my babies–a future for them.
Were they perfect? No. None of us are. We all make mistakes. I’m so lucky that my guardian angels have been looking out for me with my slew of mistakes made. But no one deserves to be murdered for their mistakes that they’ve made or yet to make.
It hurts. Seeing these people continue to get away with cold murder hurts. Will my baby be one of the people shot in cold blood because her car broke down and she needed help? Will my nephew be gunned down for walking down the street? Will my husband be strangled to death because he’s perceived as a threat though he’s done nothing threatening?
It’s disappointing to see and hear people who think that this has nothing to do with race. If it’s not race than what is it? How is it that white people can riot over pumpkins throwing glass bottles at cops and everyone make it out alive but a black child walks down the street with his hands in his pockets and he’s suspicious. As much as I’d like to believe in a utopia where color doesn’t matter, it does. It matters. Whether you’re Raven Symone, Shaq, or Trayvon Martin, we are seen by our color.
I want the world to be better. I want my girls to have the opportunity to grown up in world that won’t try to harm them because of the color of their skin. I want them to have the same opportunities as their white friends. I don’t want color to have to stand in the way of their greatness. I’m worried. I want to have faith but right now I’m filled with concern.
What if they make a mistake and it costs them their lives? What will it take to truly make our world a safer place to live in? Why don’t more people want this?
For now, all I can do is pray for the safety and protection of my girls and love on them as much as I can…
