More names have been added to the list.
The list continues to grow, as does the infamy.
Daunte Wright. Caron Nazario.
The latest publicized, unarmed Black people who have run afoul of police. Nazario, though traumatized, is still alive.
Wright is not even that fortunate.
I have written and will continue to write about the senseless violence perpetrated on Black men and women by law enforcement personnel. I will continue to hold White society accountable for the pernicious racism that is at the root of this violence.
But I will also give thanks, which is what I do today.
Thanks to our White friends and allies who are speaking out on our behalf.
Thanks for giving space, encouraging words, and giving unsparingly of your sympathy and empathy.
We need it. We need it desperately.
It helps to know that some of you understand as much as you can understand.
Some of you actually care what happens to us.
Some of you are honest enough to confront your prejudices and attempt to understand what you can’t understand, and know what you can’t know.
How hard it is to persevere. How difficult it is to be faithful and penitent.
How wearying it is, day after day, to hope for safety and security in America.
Living while Black is tough, but it would be much tougher without you.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Onto the next missive…