BLACK LIVES MATTER

Hello my loves,

Where to start this post.

First of all, with a disclaimer. If you are a person who believes that there is even an ounce of goodness within the horrifying, disgusting imbecile that is Donald Trump, unfollow me. I hate that creature more than I hate anyone else in the world. If you support him or are in other words, not against him, unfollow me. And get some help.

And to my American followers, please vote for the right people. Please vote full stop. Please do the right thing to make your country, and the world, a better place.

Anyway.

I have a million and one things to say about the current state of the world right now and the recent events that have occurred, I do not know where to even begin. I feel as though nothing I say will come close to the things I wish to articulate. If I could honestly write this post the way I want to, it’d be a combination of capital letters, swear words and a lot of exclamation marks because I just cannot comprehend the world that we live in. As a forewarning, I imagine I will end up doing a lot of swearing within this post because I am so angry, so I apologise for that in advance.

I was unsure whether I should even be writing this post using my own words, because black people’s voices are so much more important than mine and therefore I should not be sitting here writing my own expressions on this situation, but rather, pushing their voices forward instead. Which I will be doing, and which I have already been doing – if you’ve seen my latest social media posts you will know what I’m talking about.

So, this post. I could sit here and rant and rave and scream at the world for how utterly and disgustingly fucked up it is, but my voice is not the one that needs to be supported right now. I’m going to say a little piece and then I will let the rest do the talking.

Back in 2018, I read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas which was the most incredible book, and I did a whole post dedicated to it because there was no way sticking it into a monthly wrap up review would have been enough. Everything I said there is everything I wish to say today in this post and then some, so please refer back to that post if you’re unclear on my opinions / stance on these matters.

Within that post I listed the stories and names of the people you need to remember, and here today I’ll be doing it again. Please read their stories, please learn their names, please remember the unbearable, agonising suffering they so wrongly had to endure. It’s the least you owe them. SAY THEIR NAMES.

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SAY THEIR NAMES

EMMETT TILL

Emmett Till was a 14 year old African American boy (A CHILD) who was lynched in the most horrific way after he was accused of making a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, feel uncomfortable in her own grocery store in 1955.

In 2008, 53 years after Emmett Till was murdered, Carolyn Bryant admitted that the allegations and testimonies that she made against Emmett Till physically and verbally assaulting her were FALSE.

No justice was ever brought forward for this case and no one was ever charged, despite the whole thing being fabricated and made up by Carolyn Bryant, despite witnesses, scientific evidence and the fact that this murder blatantly happened – nothing.

It has been reported that since the incident, Carolyn Bryant has lived a long and private life which angers me more than words could ever explain, I hope she fucking rots in hell. I hope someone causes this vile human being misery every single day for the rest of her thankfully short life because my God it’s the least she deserves. I don’t know how such evil can exist. SAY HIS NAME.

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GEORGE STINNEY

George Stinney was a 14 year old CHILD who was sentenced to death by electric chair when he was convicted BY AN ALL WHITE JURY IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES of the murder of 2 American girls in 1944. He is the youngest American in history to have been sentenced to death and executed.

The police offer who arrested George Stinney wrote a statement basically convicting him of these murders however, no confession statement signed by George Stinney is known to exist. He was questioned alone without a parent or attorney and was held isolated for 81 days without being allowed to see anybody (his family, etc.), he apparently confessed to the murders while he was in custody and claimed that the officers starved him and then bribed him with food in order to confess to the crime.

In 2014, 70 years after he was executed, his conviction was overturned as he had not been given a fair trial (the court refused to hear his appeal after he was convicted WITHIN 10 MINUTES BY AN ALL WHITE JURY), he had no defence and his sixth amendments rights had been violated. “Judge Mullen ruled that his confession was likely coerced and thus inadmissible.”

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TAMIR RICE

Murdered at 12 years old by a white police officer for carrying a non-lethal replica air-soft toy gun.

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SANDRA BLAND

Pulled over for a minor traffic violation and found hanged in her prison cell 3 days later, with the death being listed as a suicide. She was vocal on the mistreatment by police against black people and was described as a civil rights activist and a part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

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NIA WILSON

Murdered by a white man in an unprovoked racial attack.

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ERIC GARNER

After breaking up an unrelated-fight, he was approached by police and accused of selling single cigarettes without a tax stamp. He was then wrestled to the ground after proclaiming his innocence and restrained by multiple officers until he eventually lost consciousness. He was pronounced dead one hour later.

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PHILANDO CASTILE

Killed by a police officer after having been pulled over as part of a traffic stop, Castile informed the officer he had a firearm but was not going to use it, he was then shot 7 times at point-blank range and died 20 minutes later.

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FREDDIE GRAY

Arrested and charged for possessing a knife, he fell into a coma after being transported in a police van and subsequently died due to injuries on his spinal cord. These injuries were a result of police brutality and the appalling treatment he had received during the process of being arrested – officers had bent his legs backwards, pressed their knees into his neck in order to hold him down and dragged him to the police van after witnesses said Gray was unable to walk and couldn’t use his legs. Another reported contributing factor was the idea that he had been arrested but given no seatbelt and was therefore thrown around in the back of the police van during transport, thus adding further to his injuries.

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STEPHEN LAWRENCE

Murdered at 18 years old by a group of white youths in a racially motivated attack whilst waiting for the bus.

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TERENCE CRUTCHER

Shot to death by a white police officer after standing unarmed in the street next to his vehicle.

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BREONNA TAYLOR

Murdered in her own home after police entered the property without announcing themselves first (which, in-line with their search warrant, they were not required to do) – Taylor’s boyfriend therefore armed himself with a firearm under the assumption the property was being broken into. Taylor was shot 8 times and died at the scene.

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AHMAUD ARBERY

Murdered by two white men in an unprovoked racial attack whilst going for a run in his neighbourhood.

GEORGE FLOYD

SAY HIS NAME.

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Horrifyingly, I could go on. I could go on and on and on. It is horrifying that there would not be enough time in the world for me to list the names and faces of the people who have been murdered and subjected to the worst form of dehumanisation possible, forced to endure suffering no human being deserves. This does not only apply to America. It is absolutely horrifying.

To say you’re not racist is simply not enough. To sit back and do nothing because this doesn’t apply to you or is happening in a different country to you is appalling. News flash, RACISM IS EVERYWHERE. Fucking do something about it. HOW CAN BLACK PEOPLE TRY AND SOLVE A PROBLEM THEY DID NOT CREATE. Educate yourself. Say their names, join the movement, realise your privilege, acknowledge the white privilege that’s so comfortable to people most of them don’t even know they have it. Use your position of power to make a difference. Remember who these people are and let the world know you will fight for them. Don’t you dare let them down. Just because it doesn’t affect you, doesn’t mean you get to ignore it. If you sit here and do nothing you are a coward and you are a RACIST. 

Artist – Alice Skinner

BLACK LIVES MATTER. SAY THEIR NAMES.

To the black people who are affected by these horrific ordeals on a daily basis, I am sorry. I am so, so sorry. I am sorry for what my race has done to you and the devastating treatment you have been subjected to, I am disgusted, I am ashamed, appalled, and I am so, so utterly sorry. I am with you, I stand with you and I always will. I will fight with you and I will fight for you, forever. You matter. Black lives matter. I will say your names and I will not forget. This is a promise.

Emmett Till and George Stinney will be names and faces that will haunt me for the rest of my life, and to white people – I hope they’ll haunt you for the rest of your lives, too. I hope all of these people and the images of them will haunt you until the day you leave this Earth, because this is what your people have done. This is what our people, white people, have done. And until you learn to abolish your ignorance and start changing our world using the privilege you did nothing to deserve, they will continue to do it.

I pray for a world where this will one day be a thing of the past, but I am aware that this has not, will not and most probably never will be something easily achieved, but that does not mean I will ever stop fighting. We all must fight, and continue fighting. When media attention and hysteria dies down, this does not go away. You do not simply get to go back to your privileged life and forget about it, this is an ongoing thing and a daily battle. Do better, do something. 

To the people protesting and to my black followers, please stay safe. I love you and I stand with you.

To sign petitions, text, call, learn about protesting, educate yourself, vote and donate, click here.

blacklivesmatter.com

I understand that I will never understand, but I stand.

All my love, always,

Chloe .xx

If I have said anything out of line, incorrect or offensive within this post please educate me and let me know – I will correct it immediately.