You walk down the street and someone looks at you with fear, not because of how you are dressed, but because of your skin colour. I wish the fear in their eyes was something new, but it isn’t. This has been happening to me for most of my life. You turn on the news and see Black mothers crying about losing their child. Black children are left traumatized after seeing their family members being murdered right in front of their eyes by people who are supposed to protect them. All this makes you wonder, is being Black a gift or a curse?
Some may think being Black is a curse due to everything going on in the world, but it is not. Being Black is a gift and opportunity to continue the work of our ancestors who marched and fought for us to be free. I’m no Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. I’m just a young brother from a neighbourhood that people look down upon, trying to make a difference. Trying to give hope to a young brother or sister who might be afraid to embrace their Blackness because of what they see on the news or the systemic barriers they experience. Being Black is not always easy. We have our problems, our challenges, our losses, but going through all this makes us stronger at the end of the day. Life is a struggle, and it doesn’t get any easier, but I wouldn’t change my skin colour for anything in the world. I love being a Black man. I hope one day people will look and treat us as equals and not as curses of the world.
- Matthew