Advocate

noun /ˈadvəkət/

1. a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.

I’ve always heard that God was our advocate. He was on our side. He understood our pain. He felt our pain. He was human as much as he was God. He gets it. I’ve made comparisons about the plight of the African- American with Christ. They are very similar. Innocence didn’t stop the murder of Christ or any of the African American people who have died at the hand of law enforcement. In fact, religion and politics have played a very large role in both murders. This is not the season for quiet support. This is not the season for backroom checks. We need accomplices. We need people who are truly down with the cause. We need more than posterboards and catchy chants. ( I do like the catchy chants.) We need policies. We need reform. We need economic support. We need a change in how we indoctrinate racism systematically on all levels. We need advocates.

Ally

I’ve heard that we need allies. Ally comes from the Latin word alligare, meaning "to bind to," like nations who are allies in wartime — they will act together, and protect one another. Allies form alliances. They unite. They function on one accord. We do need unity. We do need voices of all creeds and cultures. We do need to act together. We must understand that if one group is suffering then we are suffering. If you are grieving, we are all grieving. If you hurt, I hurt. It's humanity. It’s brotherhood. Are we all not God's children? So let’s act like it. Then, we are allies.

Civil

The Civil War was prompted because of the enslavement of Black people. The Civil Rights movement was prompted because of legalized racial discrimination, segregation and disenfranchisement of Black people. Neither of these events were civil and the next historical event of our time will not be either. We are at a precipice of change in America. Things are shifting. Race relations are being called out on a global scale during a pandemic. The death of a Black man in America is having a worldwide ripple effect. We are being forced to address our deep rooted history of racism towards Black people. Racism is America's original sin. Racism is the real classism. Racism must be eradicated for us to truly be Civil.

Chatter

Falsely accused. Arrested. Not given a fair trial. Beaten. Condemned. Executed. This echoes too many stories of black people in this country. It echoes the story of a man who died on calvary over 2000 years ago. We have a collective history of violence. Our black bodies have been beaten and bruised since our arrival in this country. We have endured hardships and deliberate experimentation. We have been ostracized and sterilized. We have been sold promises of an unrealized American Dream. How many bodies must be stacked up in this nightmare on our street? So. We wake up and take to the streets in protest only to attest to rubber bullets fired in our direction. Tear gas choking us out. We can't breathe. You're on our necks like nooses from Southern trees. We will never have enough degrees cause we've never been given room...from the bottom decks of slave ships to concrete jungles in the sky to boardrooms. We've been groomed to grow roses in concrete. We learned to survive in gentrified neighborhoods that used to be our Black Wall Street. Everything we have...has been appropriated. We've always been on the frontlines. We were the calvary, infantry, and the air force. We understand excessive force oh too well. We've been hunted in Georgia since Antebellum days. We've nursed your babies and raised products of rape. Our blood turned Georgia clay Red. America has always redlined us with red tape. Outlined our bodies with chalk then gawk at us when we say black lives matter as if another name isn't added to the list from police radio chatter.

Plan

What’s next? We’re gonna need a plan. We need to organize. We need an agenda. What are our goals? How do we collectively achieve them? What do we do now? How do we affect change on a larger scale? After the protests, do we rush the polls? Do we have anyone in office who represents our interest? What economic impact do we have nationally? How can we leverage our power? We need a voice. We need a collective plan.

Plot

verb

1. secretly make plans to carry out something.

2. devise the sequence of events in (a play, novel, movie, or similar work).

I think the biggest issue we have as a people is organization. We typically find ourselves divided on most issues. We can't agree. We don’t properly plan. We always find ourselves on opposite sides of the fence. How do we find common ground? How do we find a place where we can agree to disagree and still move forward? We can’t overcome in a perpetual state of solitude. We need each other. We need to plan. We need to scheme. We need to prepare. We need to plot. What’s our next move?