When The Smoke Clears

Featured Image: The New York Times

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Where will you be,
when the smoke clears,
and the protests die off,
when your social media is no longer plastered with indignant cries for justice,
or videos of people being tear-gassed and run over,
and the news channels have moved on?

Where will you be,
when the companies and celebrities go back to promoting themselves and their products,
when the police go back to their normal shifts,
and all the systems in this country that silence and discredit black voices,
take from and poison black communities,
devalue and dehumanize black bodies,
that abuse, imprison, enslave, and steal black lives,
go back to ‘business as usual’?

When there are not as many eyes on you,
and not as many voices telling you that you need to
listen,
learn,
speak out,
donate,
and take action,
What will you do?

Beena Lad

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