Thinking about this day brings about a range of different emotions, from frustration and anger to pain and anxiety. All of our lives changed after August 9, whether you’re involved in the movement or not.
Let us remember that Mike Brown’s life was stolen from him a year ago. Let us remember that we can never understand the pain that his entire family is going through, for they are hurting more than any. Let us remember that this movement was started by the lives that were lost and we have to continue saying their names and fighting for them.
If you can’t take part in #UnitedWeFight, set aside some time to remember Mike Brown. Take some time to remind yourself that we still have to fight because we do not live in a post-racial world. Take some time to do some self-care by surrounding yourself with revolutionary love.
Revolutionary love looks like understanding that you have to amplify young voices in the movement. Educators, activists and organizations such as Brittany Packnett, WetheProtestors.org, Millennial Activists United, Hands Up United, Operation Help or Hush, Organization for Black Struggle, Lost Voices, Tribe X and Our Destiny STL have worked tirelessly to center their work around young people; many of the organizations are led by young people.
When historians look back on Ferguson, they should note that young people stepped out of their homes and daily routines and put their lives on the front line, dominating both the internet and the streets. We have different roles in this movement. We are each skilled in something. If you don’t know your role in the movement, don’t talk down on those who are doing the work. For those who critique unjustly: Don’t be on the wrong side of history.
When talking about race, those who don’t experience racism have to get past the uncomfortable stage and listen. Segregation and isolation allow for the failure of dominant groups to recognize and understand the violence that communities of color experience.
If you continue to say “all lives matter” in response to someone stating that “black lives matter,” you still don’t get the issue at hand. You still don’t understand that black people are suffering from the trauma of state violence and oppression. You still don’t understand that police are murdering black women and men at alarming rates. You still don’t understand that black communities are full of human beings with real human emotions.
You can’t tell an oppressed people how to behave under an oppressive system. Pay attention to the reasons for why communities like Ferguson and West Baltimore rebel.
People equate a movement with numbers. Just because you don’t see protests every day, doesn’t mean the movement isn’t still happening. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 381 days. The Ferguson Movement has been progressing for 369 days.
Being in tune with electoral politics, the movement for black lives is very locally-based. This means that the movement can have a huge impact on the 2016 presidential and congressional races. Any candidate running for president failing to offer up a sweeping program on dismantling structural racism, ending police violence, and overhauling the criminal justice system might as well kiss Oval Office aspirations goodbye.
If racism built America, how do we go about uprooting something that is deeply engraved into its institutions, cultures and values? How do we ensure that kids are learning, instead of being killed by those who are supposed to serve and protect them?
Rest in power, Mike Brown.
Clifton Kinnie (Twitter: @CliftonKinnie) is a Ferguson organizer and founder of Our Destiny STL and will attend Howard University in the fall.
