April showers were supposed to bring May flowers, but as we get further into the year there continues to be a lot to unpack. This month was an especially tough one.
In 2016 I started my journey as a filmmaker. We had just come off the tragic events of Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling. We had barely healed as a nation, and the black community was still recovering from Michael Brown's murder. I felt black people could not win. The worst thing was seeing reports online focusing on compliance. The opinions of "if they only complied" drowned the media as if that would have prevented their deaths, and countless others. The emotions were heavy in my heart, and I wanted to create work that spoke to where we were as a country. I wrote 911 in hopes that if people saw it, they could empathetically relate to what the couple was going through - and therefore try to relate to what the black community was going through.
Little did I know that 4 years later, we would be in the same place. Minnesota would be making headline news again for a blatant disrespect for black life. As a black woman from a black family, with a black husband, who will one day have black children, I cannot begin to understand why we continue to be seen as a threat. At what point will we be treated with the dignity we deserve? When can I stop worrying about whether or not my husband will be able to make it home safe? When can I trust that the people who are meant to protect and serve will do what they pledged to do?
Like all black people, I'm tired. And for my non-black people, you should be tired too. It is beyond time for a change, and black people cannot do this alone.
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