YSWNPY-Zine 20, final - Flipbook - Page 21
A HARSH REALITY
By: Kayden Skeete
Kayden Skeete (she/her/hers) is 16 years old and in the 11th grade. She goes to Atlanta International School. She
has been a VOX Teen Staff member for about 1 ½ years now, where she has developed a passion for social justice
activism through journalism. Instagram: @Kayden.Lashley
Oppression is a word that sits so deeply with us
as Black people. From childhood to adulthood
we are taught that this is just the way it is. But
why? We live in a country founded on the
principles of racism.
Forced onto boats, chained up in shackles,
struck with whips. To what end? And only
because we have more melanin? The way we
are born automatically makes us less than?
Why? Why does our skin color put us at such a
disadvantage? It is not easy to come to a point
as a Black person, where we have to accept that
our skin color is the reason why we are
oppressed. A factor that we cannot control
whatsoever is the reason why we are oppressed.
We all bleed the same blood, so why does our
skin color determine the treatment we receive?
MLK photo provided by: ANONYMOUS / AP
Protest photo (L): Clay Banks on Unsplash
Protest photo (R): Joe Yates on Unsplash
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Civil Rights
activist who peacefully protested for our rights
to equality and changed our world for the
better. His activism was - and still is - inspiring
to so many. His determination and dedication
to push for a better world for his children and
his grandchildren have had such an incredible
impact. His speech during the March On
Washington in 1963 has gone down in
history as one of the most impactful speeches
for change. “I have a dream,” he said. “That one
day my four little children will live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin, but by the content of their
character.” He had this dream because it wasn’t
the reality of the world he lived in.
King guided us to a point where we can live
wherever we please, in the eyes of the law. He
guided us to a point where we can get an
education wherever we please, in the eyes of
the law. But how fair are the eyes of the law?
Take Breonna Taylor, for example. Her
murderers are still walking free. Let’s swap the
As children, we have to have that talk. The talk
where we’re told to keep our hands where they
can be seen, keep our wallets in a place where
they’re easy to grab and be respectful and calm
with officers so that we don’t end up in jail or
dead. But sometimes being respectful and calm
doesn’t save us from jail or death. We’re shown
time and time again that the color of our skin
could mean the end of our lives. George Floyd,
Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castille,
Sandra Bland, and so many more. We see our
brothers, fathers, mothers, and friends killed in
broad daylight, yet protest after protest, speech
after speech, and riot after riot we’re still not
being heard?
Through the harsh realities we face, we haven’t
given up. We have protested, we have
rioted, and we have spoken out. More people
are recognizing this injustice now more than
ever. Although this is positive, it shouldn’t have
taken a global pandemic where everyone is in
quarantine with nothing to watch except for
the news, for people to realize what has been
going on. As the 2020 protests began, more and
more youth have been speaking out to make a
change. The power of the youth voice is
unmatched. It’s incredible to see so many
young people being able to protest to make a
difference, just like we were taught in our
history classes. It is amazing that we get to
experience a historical period that will go down
in history as one of the largest Civil Rights
movement, which is just what we need. We
need to come together to fight for justice and
make our world a better place for our children
and grandchildren, just like King strived to do.
We won’t see a change overnight, but there is
hope that our harsh reality will change for the
better.
21
YOUR SILENCE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU 20
Enslaved, we were.
Oppressed, we were.
Oppressed, we still are.
races of the officers and Breonna, would this
still be the case? What about society? Some
people haven’t changed. Down in the backroads
in the South, I might get attacked just for being
Black, and my attackers could likely walk free.
This is the harsh reality for a Black person in
America.
