Healing and preserving peace: A year on from the resurgence of BLM
Warning: this post can be triggering, but we felt it important to share it exactly as the author intended it to be read.
"I can't bring myself to watch yet another video, not because I don't care, but because we're all just a few videos away from becoming completely desensitized. The public execution of Black folks will never be normal."
Andrena Sawyer
Rewatching George Floyd get murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in broad daylight was reliving trauma I badly wanted to forget. Sometimes I sleep and my subconscious keeps rehashing the words ‘I can’t breathe’. May 25th 2021 marked the one year anniversary of the brutal murder and the day the world was exposed to the hostile, inhumane and deadly way Black people are treated in certain parts of the global ecosystem. Recounting the gory details is too painful to document here. This was a communal tragedy for Black communities and further highlighted the casual violence we experience through our lifetimes.
This event marked a watershed moment in our Black history as it coincided with the most devastating global pandemic in the collective modern history. We had a lot of time to sit indoors, think about our lives, our experiences and the unfair cards the Black community had been dealt. A point further illustrated by BAME deaths being significantly higher through the pandemic. June 2020 was filled with immense racial trauma. It is not a surprise that the Black Lives Matter protests peaked on June 6, when nearly half a million people turned up in almost 550 locations across the United States.
Pain in itself cannot and should not be hidden. We have to acknowledge the communal grief and trauma we all are experiencing in these times.
It is characterized with mixed feelings, which range from: helplessness, to distress, to frustration and some of us have just gotten to the point where we are numb, and understandably so. When you’re terribly injured physically, and you use a band aid to cover up the wound without treating it properly, it festers and gets worse. This applies to our souls too. When we are hurting, we can’t just put band aids over it without initially working on the cause of the hurt, it only detoriates.
I wish I could confidently write that one year after the BLM protests, all is fine and dandy in the world, racism has been eradicated, we all are singing Hakuna Matata and living happily ever after. But you know and I know that this is not the case. If you believe this, then I have an airport in Africa to sell to you. Racism is still prevalent in so many forms, from individual to interpersonal to institutional and concurrently structural forms. We deserve to live in a world where Black people have racial and social equality, economic equity and unbiased criminal justice systems as human rights. As we look back on June 2020, we cannot negate the toll that racial trauma has on our mental health, but we can start working on making ourselves better
Here are a few ways to start:
Allow yourself to feel-
This period comes with a lot of deep and painful emotions, let yourself feel them. It is important to acknowledge your hurt and sadness. Don’t brush it under the rug, don’t self-sabotage to cope, but have the courage to say ‘this is how I’m feeling and these emotions are valid’.
Digital detoxing-
If you don’t have the emotional range for it, it is okay to take a digital detox as this is a period that is filled with remembrances from last year, traumatic stories and painful reminders. Please, don’t feel guilty for taking some time off to re-center yourself. It is okay.
Find connection in others-
We in the Black community and our allies are all experiencing similar emotions right now. You are not alone and it’s okay not to be okay. Reach out to loved ones, friends, social networks and build a community for yourself. Be a safe space for the ones you love.
Show empathy-
Not everyone will express their hurt the same way that you do. Some may seem highly emotional while others may seem unaffected. Honor and show empathy to everyone.
Finding joy-
When terrible things happen, joy is usually not the first thing at the top of our minds. We are often overwhelmed with so many negative emotions that someone casually saying to us ‘find joy’ can sound almost insulting. But, now more than ever, you need to let some light in and create bowls of happiness for yourself. You can take up an activity that excites you, take walks, paint, garden, Netflix and chill (cheesy wink!).
Ask for help-
As a community, we all need to get to a point where we can freely reach out for help and support without feeling further ostracized. If you’re feeling down and you can’t map your way out of the myriad of emotions you are experiencing, please reach out to someone. There is no shame in struggling with your mental health. You deserve to live a healthy life filled with joy.
Overall, there is a need for accountability, Black people need to stop being treated as pawns in a global chess game. Our lives matter, our mental health matters, our existence is valid, we deserve Black joy, Black laughter and Black freedom. I wish this was a love and light article, but some stories must be told. We are all unique and experience pain very differently, it is no surprise that everyone will go through these times in various ways.
Figure out what works for you and be patient with yourself.
“I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge – even wisdom. Like art.”
-Toni Morrison
Words & Image by Yomi Olusunle (@theyommie_)