I have black curly hair. My mom is Filipina, and my dad is black. I grew up in South Carolina where none of the girls looked like me. I hated my hair up until I was 12. Two weeks after my birthday, my family moved to Georgia. HUGE difference. There were black kids at my school. There were black GIRLS at my school. Unfortunately, those girls didn’t have curly hair like me. Their hair was either heat damaged, or they kept it in braids because curly hair is “annoying” and “too much work.” So I was back at being the girl that got asked if her hair was real. Or if she wore a wig.
Two years later, we moved to Virginia, Northern Virginia (NOVA) to be exact. The girls here? Oh yeah, they definitely look like me. I’ve seen girls with their natural curls so long that it curtains over their bookbag. I’ve seen a girl who wears her brown curls entirely naturally. She has a gorgeous, big afro with the prettiest curls I’ve ever seen. I don’t have to be the odd one out anymore. I don’t have to feel alone when I talk about the struggles of curly hair. There are people that can finally relate to me now. Nobody thinks I’m different. Black lives matter. I'm sure you've heard it. I'm tired of watching the news every night just to find out another black woman or man was shot and killed by a police officer. Breonna Taylor didn't have to die, or George Floyd, or Jacob Blake, or ANY African American whose death lies in the hands of a police officer. I should not be seen just as black. I should not be scared. I should not have to worry about not being able to get a job. I should not fear that my little brother will be stopped by a police officer. I should not hear stories about black Americans getting shot and killed by an officer. I should not fear ANYTHING because I am black. The protests won’t stop until there’s change. The peaceful, effective protests won’t stop. People that are looting, and breaking glass, and causing chaos are NOT protestors. Protestors are the people spending hours of the day marching down the streets. Making signs and risking their lives. They know the dangers of protesting, especially with COVID-19. But they also know that if there are no actions, if there are no protests: there will be no change. The NBA will continue to wear jerseys that say “BLM” and “Equality” on their jerseys. They will continue to cancel games so that they themselves can protest. The NFL players will continue to kneel. They’re not doing this for themselves. They are doing this for their family, for their ancestors that fought hard for change. One day, I was talking to a friend. We were talking about race, and it was crazy to me because we were two high schoolers talking about something that actually mattered. Something they said to me stuck: “Before gender, race, or religion, we are human. Does a 15 year old really need to tell you that?” They’re right. They are completely right. A 15-year-old kid shouldn’t have to tell people that all people are equal. That we are all the same no matter what. But a 15 year old kid is telling you that. I know that people are saying “All Lives Matter.” Yes, you are right, I want you to know that. But I also want you to know that ALL lives CAN'T matter unless BLACK lives matter too. That's what I want you to know. That's what I want everyone to know. I want you to know that our lives matter TOO. That means that we deserve to be treated the SAME.
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March 2021
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