CHRIS
CHRIS
“I Didn’t choose to be black,
but i would — over and again.”
I’m out here to fight systemic and institutionalized racism. We didn’t choose to be black but we wake up every day and deal with it.
The looks I get for the way I look. When I get pulled over and I start shaking. Having to be that fearful in your own country is why I am here.
I’ve lived and traveled all over the whole country. It doesn’t matter where I go, the feeling is the same. It’s not just Des Moines, it’s everywhere!
Participating in rallies and protests is what matters. It gets the message that we feel every single day noticed. Not understood, but noticed. I come out and show my support for my kids, my family and my friends. This is the part we want them to see. Is the looting and rioting counterintuitive to this movement? We’re trying to be peaceful, but we’re trying to prove to you that we’re serious.
If I could talk directly to a police officer I would ask…
“What actions could you take to change tomorrow?”
“Can you put yourself in our shoes?”
”What if you were oppressed? How would you react?”
”What if you had to wake up crying because of the skin you were born in?”
I didn’t choose to be black but I would — over and over again.
