Don't be discouraged - 5 reasons why you need to keep going during these hard times

AARI

We are in a moment of mess, controversy, and major change. During transitional periods you may feel like you are fighting an invisible opponent, navigating through darkness, and wading through waters that feel way too deep. I’m here to remind you to keep going. Keep speaking out against racial injustice. Keep raising your voice in moments of intolerance. Keep pushing the needle for justice. You cannot be stopped. You cannot be silenced. I want to tell you that without struggle there is no progress (Frederick Douglass). If you need some encouragement, here’s 5 reasons why you need to keep going during these hard times:

Turmoil always proceeds Transition. And Transition always proceeds Triumph. This has been true since the beginning of time. And sometimes it’s good to look at others who have gone through struggle to get a blueprint for how to survive through the rough times. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were slain in their fight against injustice, but their ultimate sacrifice helped set the foundation for radical, racial change. Even in the Bible, Job says “though he slay me, yet shall I trust Him”. Trust in the process. Trust that when things get tough, we are still in a space of change. Trust that things are progressing.
Just because something is hard, doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Oftentimes, hard things are evidence that something is shifting. If you give up during the shift, you will miss the tide changes. See it through, even when the waves are rocky.
I’ve never met game-changers that haven’t considered giving up, but kept going anyway. If you’ve joined the fight against racial injustice through protesting - you are a game changer. If you’ve raised your voice against racial intolerance - you are a game changer. If you’ve stood in a board meeting about diversity at your job - you are a game changer. If you’ve expressed anger towards racial injustice on your social media platform - you are a game changer. There’s nothing small about what you are contributing to the fight. Just because you think about giving up, doesn’t mean you should. You are integral, and you are important. And when you give up, the fight loses its strength. We are all in this fight towards equality, together.
This battle is bigger than us. As a collective, we are fighting for our future. We are fighting for our kids. We are fighting for our grandkids, and we are fighting for our great grand kids. We are fighting for the humanity of human lives that have yet to exist. If we don’t do this hard work now, we will keep repeating the same cycles of oppression.
People of color are tired of being killed. Life already has a 100% guarantee of all of us dying at the end. We, as people of color, would like to at least make it to the end, first, instead of having life snatched from us due to the color of our skin. It’s not okay to be murdered. And it’s not okay to be a murderer. These are simple truths that we are still fighting for. When you look at how ridiculous it is that we have to fight for our lives, it makes sense why we need to change the world sooner rather than later.