I never stood for poor treatment of others but I went about my life as if nothing was happening.

We are living through a very interesting time and for the last few weeks, I have been contemplating what Black Lives Matter means and have also been educating myself on the history of black people in America. I was born in the US, a Hispanic Woman, and learned black history in school but as many of us have been made starkly aware of, spent most of my life passing as white and enjoying the privileges that this afforded me.

I never stood for poor treatment of others but I went about my life as if nothing was happening on the other side of the street and have recently realized along with many others that this is no longer okay. It is no longer okay to just live my life and continue to let these things happen to black people.

At age 11-12, I wrote a poem about race and over the past few weeks have been wondering to myself, what must an 11 year old have been feeling to write it? Not only was it a very powerful thing for someone that age to write but it was the first poem I ever wrote. The first time I put pen to paper in the form of a poem was to voice an injustice I had seen and felt.

To this day, I don’t recall the exact incident that occurred but a friend recently reminded me that was around the time of the LA race riots. Whatever it was, it provoked this out of me. I also see how I was aware of the injustice back then and yet as I grew up, I assimilated the best I could and lived most of my life enjoying my white privileges. I now see that I can now use these same privileges to help make a difference and transform our reality.

My way of contributing is by being a better human first, educating myself and practicing anti-racism everyday. There are many ways to get involved. Open yourself up to the possibilities and educate yourself as much as possible.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr.