My name is Jose Williamson III and I am from 37th Street, South Minneapolis, a few blocks away from where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis Police Department officer on May 25. This moment was devastating in every sense of the word.
That day, I began to understand all of the times when my father would say, “watch your speed” and my mother would say, “be home soon,” and all the prayers from my grandmother that made it very clear that this was bigger than just their love for me. It was their love for all of us. It was because they understood the harsh reality of systemic racism that we have to deal with every single day. As hard as it was, I began to face the reality that George Floyd could very well have been me.
After that tragic day, I began to think about how my heart starts racing when I see police pass by on the road. I began to think about how I should show an officer my hands in case I ever got pulled over. I began to think about how I would video record the situation in a traffic stop. These are all things that I now have grown comfortable with asking myself, because being a young black man in America in 2020 is uncertain.
Racism is something that is embedded in this nation's history and has been around for centuries with little effort to eradicate its toxic presence. The thought that in the year 2020 with so much development and technology, black people are still marching, protesting, and dying for a cause that has stained the influence of blacks in this country and others across the world.
As I plan to complete my undergraduate studies and become a college graduate this upcoming year, I am humbled to remind myself that everyday is an opportunity to become a better person. To learn and grow one day at a time. A common phrase that I hear from peers is that “change takes time”. Change does indeed take time, although, blacks have been fighting for equality and liberation for over 400 years. Our nation was built on a parasitic system that was designed to incriminate and incarcerate black people as a way to “advance” the growth and economy of the United States. This is where my passion matched with millions of other intelligent and inspirational black peers who have kept pushing the agenda of black liberation and equal rights moving forward with little victories becoming more apparent in mainstream media and everyday life.
I challenge anyone who is passionate about helping to bridge the gap between race relations in this country to practice it intentionally and religiously. For many, the prejudice and discrimination we face comes from the idea that “it will change, it just takes time”. In the words of the prominent black philosopher James Baldwin, I conclude with a quote: “What is it you wanted me to reconcile myself to? I was born here, almost 60 years ago. I’m not going to live another 60 years. You always told me ‘It takes time.’ It’s taken my father’s time, my mother’s time, my uncle’s time, my brothers’ and my sisters’ time. How much time do you want for your progress?”
