by JENNA SERVIZZI - October 15, 2020 - A letter written in reflection of the current fight for social justice
To the Black community -
We see you, or so we think. We think we know your story. We think we can empathize with your struggle and relate it to some minor inconvenience we feel in our lives. But we can’t. In reality, we don’t know what it’s like to be you or to feel your pain. And we might never be able to, so we have to listen. Only when we listen can we at least hope to have a better understanding of your community. What we learn about your culture and lives from the history books will never be enough to know you. We have to do more to educate ourselves. As a society, we need to do better. Not so we feel better about ourselves, but so we can love more, form better relationships, build better foundations for unity and togetherness, so we don’t fall back on centuries of prejudice and discrimination. It is our responsibility to support you in your fight for justice, your fight for equality. In light of all of the recent events, this rings even more true. Our social media posts will never be enough to aid in a fight that has gone on for too long.
We are all given the ability to tell our stories, but we are not all heard. It is up to us to take our voice and use it to echo your words. We cannot look away because we do not feel your pain at seeing your brothers and sisters fall. We have to listen, and we have to see. We cannot overshadow your fight with what we think are good deeds and actions. We must be the echo to your voice and to your story. It is the only way that we can one day achieve the peace that we so desperately hope for. We must stand behind you in every way that we can, using every tool that we can. So to the members of the Black community - we are ready to listen, we are ready to see, we are ready to do more for you. All of you.