Bana Yiraglem: Black Lives Matter.
Image Credit: Frank Cieciorka
By: Bana Yirgalem
“Break us down. However, our voices won’t be silenced.”
Discrimination is what black individuals all around the world have been facing for more than 400 years. Brutality, is disturbing, physical violence that black individuals have been experiencing every single day because of their complexion. Injustice is what the black community sees when justice hasn’t been served for the senseless acts that have been committed against innocent unarmed black men and women.
I’m a seventeen-year-old African-Canadian female. I was born in Canada, yet, both my parents and ancestors hail from Eritrea, a northeast African country. Growing up in Canada, I was raised with the mentality ‘everyone in society was created to be equal’. However, that has not been the case, especially with myself. As a young girl, I was raised to respect every single individual I come across, I continue to do that as a young adult. The real question is, how come I haven’t been respected as well? The answer being, because I’m a black female. I have experienced racial slurs thrown directly and indirectly towards me, which has caused trauma and has scarred me emotionally, as well as, mentally.
In the ninth grade, three young boys from my school added me in an Instagram group chat. I didn’t know the reason for being added. They then proceeded to send pictures of buckets of dirty water saying my family drinks dirty water because we’re African. They continued to send pictures of monkeys and donkeys claiming that my family looks like animals, which is extremely disgusting as well as disrespectful. With myself being an emotional individual, it broke me. I was then being taunted by these three boys. At school, one of them would taunt me calling me a monkey and telling me to start screaming an African chant. I went through weeks of being harassed and keep my silence. Until I couldn’t take it. In class, I broke my silence and called the boys out for the disrespect towards my family, me, and for black people all around the world, also, calling him a racist as well. I was then later sent out of the classroom for being a disruptive presence in the classroom. The fact that being the only black female in my grade and speaking up against racism is now considered ‘a disruptive presence in the classroom’ is absolute bullshit. The heartbreaking thing is that this wasn’t the only racist experience I’ve come across.
I’m thankful that God has blessed me with a beautiful afro so when I reached the eleventh grade, I started coming to school with my hair in its natural state. As I would walk the halls of my school, people would give me looks of disgust and would whisper under their breaths. The feeling of discomfort would fill my body asking myself “Why people in my school were approaching me differently all of a sudden?” I would also come to school with hair extensions and students would make the statement “She has horsehair on her head because she has no hair.” When I would have braids in, students then make statements like “She looks like an octopus or its like she has the Toronto Hydro line on her head.” It continued to get worse to the point when it got physical when I had a student pull on my braids as if I was a horse being whipped by a jockey. That action stood out to me because they were treating me like I’m an animal. Endless nights of crying myself to sleep, hating the way I looked, and hating the texture as well as the appearance of my hair. These experiences like this not only caused me to not love myself, but made me lose every bit of self-respect I had for myself.
Grade 12 was the year I brought awareness to the issue of racism in my school towards the black students in high school after I was called the n-word with the hard er at the end. I explained to the teachers and principle that this has been an ongoing issue in our school’s culture and needs to be stopped. Measures were taken, yet, it wasn’t enough. I’m fighting for the black students at the school. I’m fighting for the equality of individuals no matter what gender, sexual orientation, and class. I want the black students at my school to know that they are not alone, I’m here. I’ve experienced racism that was absolutely traumatizing. However, I will still advocate for those who may not have a voice and need that voice.
On Monday, May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, an innocent black man named George Floyd was brutally murdered in the hands of four police officers. The sick and disgusting individual that killed George Floyd had his knee on Floyd’s neck, even hearing Floyd pled that he can’t breathe and that he wanted his momma, yet, still proceeded to push his knee down. This past week, videos poured all over social media of the tragic event, and honestly, I’m sick. Honestly, there aren’t enough words in the English Dictionary to express how much this truly has affected me mentally and emotionally. Why hasn’t this stopped? Why do I have to see another innocent black individual’s name become another hashtag? Why hasn’t justice been served? Why do I have to pray to God begging that this is all a bad dream that I need to wake up from? This isn’t right, George should be here with his family, instead, his family has to plan a funeral. This is disgusting. The fact that black individuals have become a punching bag in society is honestly heartbreaking. Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks didn’t fight to see their people get gunned down or suffocated. They fought for justice and freedom for the black society.
Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Oscar Grant, Philando Castile, Freddie Grey, Micheal Brown, Eric Garner, Aubrey Ahmed, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, as well as, the many more black individuals killed in the hands of police brutality, I stand with you. I will continue to shout your names for justice until my last dying breath. I refuse to stop protesting. The world can break us down. However, our voices won’t be silenced.
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