This is a somber moment in the history of our country, one that must result in meaning and change. A man’s last breath was violently taken from him in front of the world. At this time entire nations of America’s native people are threatened with extinction. In some desolate part of the country, children of the indigenous Americas are incarcerated behind concrete and steel, away from their parents. Recently, weapons of war were brandished in an attempt to silence the voice of the people.
Black Americans, Mexican Americans, the descendants of the Americas, Asian Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, all people of color, have been subjected to systematic human rights violations since the first Europeans set foot and began a ruthless subjugation of this land.
With the United States of America mired on a rudderless course and recoiling from the yet another in a long list of racial crimes, we must seize the moment to reset on a steady course. A course based on principal. A government that boasts of human rights violations against its people is not great, it is a sign of decline and darkness.
A government of the people, by the people, for the people dictates that black lives matter, brown lives matter, all lives matter.
As the world openly rebels in response to the history of atrocities committed against black people, and all people of color, in this country, we need to focus the light of truth on those with authoritarian aspirations, presently in this government, that propose to wield absolute unchecked power.
Where are the thousands of children? Who protects the unalienable rights of indigenous nations? In this country founded on enslavement and genocide against people of dark skin, it is time to address the abuse of power and the countless systematic crimes committed in the name of freedom. What else is hidden in America’s darkness?
Use your voice. VOTE.
Juan Rojas Aguilar
June 6, 2020