All Hearts are Red

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I wonder what it would be like this year if nothing had happened……

Would we still be stuck in the same rut? Letting racism and white privilege rule our subconscious? Not spending any time with our family because we are so caught up in a rat race and consumed with stress that we aren’t able to breathe?
That did not happen…not this year.  

Our careers were abruptly interrupted. And this year we have faced some harsh realities. We have had to learn what it means to slow down. We have had to adapt in order to spend time with our families and just be still. We have isolated ourselves for the greater good. I have faced the fact that I am privileged. I was born into privilege not because I chose to be but because that is the path that was undeniably, unfairly paved for me. 

If you find yourself without your beloved career, you are not alone. Millions of Americans are in this with you. If you are black and you feel left behind because you are seeing dozens of social media posts that claim, “All lives matter”, you are not alone. Not all people feel this way. Of course, all lives matter but that is not the point. That is the same as saying, “All cancer is bad so yours isn’t special.” That is a scary thought process and that kind of thinking and careless speech is exactly what has gotten us where we are today. Its why so many black people have been mindlessly tortured, killed, turned away from jobs, lost opportunities, felt afraid, etc. It is not about one specific situation. It is about the thousands that were not caught on camera. 

So, in my note to the year 2020, I will say that I do not regret you. You have taken the blinders off. You have given and you have taken away. You have taken lives, but you have also given us one. You have taken jobs, but you have also uncovered so many amazing employers who have diligently taken care of their workers at any cost. We have seen a black man murdered on the street and an uprising of support for him all over the world. You have shown us that some of us are privileged and we have been denying that fact for years. You have shown us to raise our children to be better than we are. You gave us an instruction manual to raise children who know how to lead anything from a corporation to a protest and also how to follow and be humble and most importantly…. when to know the difference. 

If you utter the words, “All lives matter,” then you are part of the problem. If you are saying, “Unemployment benefits are too high,”, then you are also part of the problem. If you say, “There should be no hazard pay,” you need to think again.

The year 2020 certainly did not intend to leave room for judgement. Wear your heart on your sleeve with pride. Let us think before we speak. In fact, let us think before we think. There are certain things that white Americans cannot possibly understand so let us not pretend to do so.

Guess what? All hearts are red.

Kristen Hamilton