Permission to Exist

When the Revolution is Finally Televised

Civil rights march on Washington, DC

Warren K. Leffler 1963

In The 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones writes, “…a truer origin story requires us to place Black Americans prominently in the role of democracy’s defenders and perfecters. It is Black Americans who have struggled and fought, when many white American’s were willing to abandon the charge that “all men are created equal,” to make those words real. It is Black Americans who have consistently made the case, even when they were utterly disenfranchised and forced out of the political process, that all citizens deserve equal access to the benefits of a country founded on a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The efforts of Black Americans to seek freedom through resistance and rebellion against violations of their rights have always been one of this nation’s defining traditions. But the country has rarely seen it that way, because for Black Americans, the freedom struggle has been a centuries-long fight against their own fellow Americans and against the very government intended to uphold the rights of its citizens. Though we are seldom taught this fact, time after time throughout our history, the most ardent, courageous, and consistent freedom fighters within this country have been Black Americans.”

Kelly Lacy

The audacity of change to have us believe that the Marches in the 60’s were left there and the lynchings were left in the 20’s. The audacity of change to make us believe that after a brutal fever and marrow deep racism that the bones of America were finally healed. That fighting the good fight would finally result in a good life, being seen, value disbursed evenly for what was taken from our ancestors. Shame on audacity the first time, but shame on us now for the lackadaisical approach to not being “as” mistreated as our ancestors. We have been fooled because the signs have been removed from the water fountains and taken down from store fronts, yet the sentiment remains the same... Whites Only. There is an unfortunate comfortability with Black people having jobs and reading no longer being illegal that has us believing change has happened. Meanwhile we are treated like second class citizens in our own country. We are still hung, oppressed, unjustly murdered by law enforcement and civilians, and a host of other atrocities that have haunted the Black community for too many hundreds of years. We have just enough freedom to make us think freedom actually exists and that it’s ours.

“Black’s are no longer asking for Permission to exist. We are here, and you will feel us.”

Then we drive down the road of reality a little furtherand flip the turn signal as we make a wrong turn intothe sun down town that still exists in 2022. Driving alittle further will have you realizing that we are in acountry whereBlack people can be fired for wearingour hair the way that it grows out of our head, if weare not killed first because of the way the sun kissesour skin.With all the suffering we experience it is evident thatchange is the last thing on the agenda for this countryand its indifference towards its Black citizens. You cantell by the gross misunderstanding of us asking forequality and getting an ice cream flavor in exchange.Knowing that the betterment of disenfranchisedpeople is not top priority, we can no longer ask forpermission to exist. We are not asking for anything weare taking back everything that we deserve since ourdemands are neglected or met with Black moviesections instead of action to protect our civil rights.

We are constantly met with smoke screens throughout the years that we now have COPD. Have we not learned anything from the GI Bill that is still hurting us today. So no, we cannot ask for permission to exist because we know the answer will be no. We have to take our voices and our dollars and pour into every half empty cup in our community and create a society around the resources that we have. The questions have stopped and we are making a statement, Black’s are no longer asking for Permission to exist. We are here and you will feel us.

Michelle Guimaraes