So it hurts to see that these white mothers are making the front page for suddenly deciding to step up.Black moms have been the unceasing engine of the fight against police violence since the beginningBlack mothers have long been doing the work because it’s our babies who are dying. We have more skin in the game, we have everything to lose. So of course we’re out in the streets trying to fight for our kids’ lives. Because if we don’t, then who will? No one, and we’re very aware of that fact.
I know firsthand the involvement of Black mothers. My older sister is very active in the fight against police violence and has been for years. She’s a member of her local chapter of, an activist group founded in 2015 “as a way to put eyes on the streets, interrupt violence and crime, and teach children to grow up as friends rather than enemies.”
The white moms in Portland are just the most recent example of white women getting credit for the things Black women have been doing for ages. For some reason, when we as Black women talk about an issue it simply gets downplayed or ignored. But then if white women make the same argument, suddenly everyone is paying attention. And while it’s important for them to speak up, Black women shouldn’t be swept under the rug because white women have suddenly grabbed the mic.
They both deserve credit