The Revolution is White

Thank-you for your support. Seeing the majority of my white peers respond positively to the protests of NFL players, helps to restore my belief in a country which elected an immature, thoughtless, and unqualified leader. This is the beginning. It is easy to lend a voice when the opinion you hold is a popular one. Are you willing to exchange your privilege so others can benefit? This exchange in privilege must be done collectively by the white majority. Are you all willing to oppose your parents and grandparents? How willing are you to receive correction from a person of color when they tell you personally about tour attitutudes, statements, and actions which are offensive? Are you ready to invest in black businesses? Are you willing to believe that having while you have one black friend, you may be wholly ignorant of black culture, or ignorant of who your friend truly is. A facebookpost, tweet, even this blof is meaningless if it does not compel thoughtful reflection followed by timely action.

The abolitionist movement existed concurrently with slavery.  Americans retained and honored their heinous institution so much that it took until 1865 for thoughtful reflection to turn into timely action. White Americans, you cannot simply believe things will get better. I am willing to wager, when a host of Latin American countries achieved liberation from their imperial centers they believed things would improve for them. Some of them have achieved freedom and self-sufficiency but others are failed states struggling to create stability. Progress is not a given. Our belief in progress removes the responsibility from our fellow citizens to enact change. We leave change to chance, a mistake with grave implications for all of us.

This criticism and call to action is leveled at white people because you have made a country in your image. Your community has resisted expanding privilege to those outside of your preference, and maintained unjust legislation. You shaped this country, and you may adjust it accordingly. The change black and brown people yearn for hinges upon your consent. The revolution is white. True revolution does not happen until the upper class invloves themselves.The poor have revolted from time to time throughout the course of history. Usually their rebellions are short lived and the revolutionaries pay with their lives. Revolution is fully realized when the upper class chooses to take up the cause of the poor, or choose their own agenda due to their disenchantment with current conditions. White America, our revolution is your revolution. I am not saying that minority communities cannot create change. Surely they can and have done so. What I am arguing is, when it comes to a reorganization and restructuring of social and economic policy, minorities cannot simply will this type of change into power without the consent of the ruling class. In our country, the ruling class is white. White America, our freedom is contingent upon your agreement, as it has always unfortunately been.What will you all choose to do?

These broken systems will not be fixed with our beliefs, only with our actions. Search God, search your heart, search your friends and families. We will achieve justice through actions supported by a firm conviction in the equal value of every human being. We are not here yet. If we want to move forward, we must forge our progress out of our love for one another, instead of a weak belief.in imminent advancement.