Don’t Forget to Breathe Through All This Racism, Black Folk
We’ll get through this by protecting our energy
Recently, a good friend asked me, openly and honestly, “How are you doing?” I had a tough time answering.
I’m not doing okay. I’m tired, and I’m exhausted. Some days, it’s hard to make it through and all I want to do is take a nap. Other days, I have enough energy to be an active participant in fighting for the revolution. Often, it’s everything in between.
The trauma and grief from the coronavirus pandemic, the anxiety from the impending climate apocalypse, and the mental tax of racism all take a toll. Like Covid-19, racism is a public health crisis because it kills at a molecular level. We are living through two pandemics simultaneously. It’s even more painful because the pain we experience from one pandemic — racism — isn’t acknowledged. The experience of being Black in America is real because we live through the trauma every day. It’s the ultimate cap. I’m tired of arguing about my existence and the value of my life.
How are we feeling? How do we get through this?
Like Covid-19, racism is a public health crisis because it kills at a molecular level. We are living through two pandemics…
