I Am Human Too: A Direct Conversation About Equality

Written in the time of George Floyd and every Black life lost before and after him.

To every white person reading this, I want to start with something I mean from the deepest part of who I am. I, Tashia, a human being just like you, value and respect your life. Not because of the color of your skin, but because you are human. That is it. That is the whole reason.

Now I need you to extend that same belief back to me. Not as a favor. Not as a gesture. But because I am human too.

If you are still reading, good. Stay with me, because what I am about to say matters.

History has done a masterful job of conditioning people to see humanity on a sliding scale. Years of denial and comfortable silence have led too many people to operate as though human rights are something that need to be earned based on the color of your skin or the way you were born. And if that is truly what someone believes, then we cannot in good conscience call this country the Land of the Free. Freedom that only applies to some people is not freedom. It is a privilege dressed up in patriotic language.

I want you to do something. Look at my picture. Really look at it. Do you want to know why Black people are demanding change, why we are asking for statues that symbolize hatred and inequality to come down, why we keep showing up in the streets and in the media and in every conversation that tries to silence us?

It is because I am a human being. My skin is a different shade than yours, and that is perfectly fine, because we are both human. We belong to the same race. The human race. That is not a radical idea. It should not even be a controversial one.

But somehow it still is, and that is the problem.

When human beings are denied basic civil rights, equal pay, equal education, and equal opportunities simply because of how they look, then the idea that all lives matter becomes an empty phrase. You cannot say all lives matter while remaining silent about the systems that treat some lives as less valuable than others. Those two things cannot coexist honestly.

It also troubles me deeply when people label the Black Lives Matter movement as dangerous or extreme while refusing to acknowledge that the KKK is not a relic of the past. It is still active. It still operates. It still promotes the belief that people who look like me are less than human. If that does not bother you, I think it is worth asking yourself why.

So here is what I am asking. Not demanding, not accusing, just asking.

Find a quiet moment. Step away from the noise. Stand in front of a mirror and just breathe. Clear your mind of everything you have heard about movements and politics and media narratives. And then say this out loud, slowly, and just focus on the words themselves.

"Black humans matter."

Say it again. Mean it.

Do you believe it? Because I do. I believe it because I believe all human beings matter, and you cannot get to all without including Black people too. That is not a complicated equation. It is just the truth.

The movement will continue to show up, in the streets, in the media, in conversations like this one, until the day comes when we no longer have to explain why our lives have value. We will keep showing up because the alternative is silence, and silence has never protected us.

All lives cannot matter until Black lives matter too. That is not a threat. It is a simple, human truth.

And I, Tashia, am human too.👏🏽👏🏻👏🏼👏🏾👏🏿

#BlackLivesMatter #IAmHumanToo #Equality #StopRacism #StrongerThanBefore #GeorgeFloyd #CivilRights #WeAreHuman #NeverSilent #LandOfTheFree

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