As a young African-American male in America, I see race issues constantly throughout various media sources. In recent years, there has been a large outcry regarding African Americans and police brutality. Growing up my mother made sure that I was educated on the history of African Americans because, “In order to know where you’re going, you must know where you’ve come from.” I have really come to appreciate this because as I’ve grown, I see the importance of knowing what life was like for black men in America throughout history and how there are going to be hardships that I may face because of the color of my skin. I couldn’t even imagine a life where I wouldn’t be allowed to even use the same water fountain as another human being. This past weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to go to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and it was a surreal moment for me. It was chilling as I walked through the museum and saw the different exhibits because so much has had to be overcome in this country to get where we are today. It’s mind blowing how people didn’t even have fundamental rights until 50-60 years ago. Something that I found very interesting was how black athletes have been able to use their sports influence as a catalyst to make political statements over the years. An example of such athlete is Colin Kaepernick, who decided to take a knee during the national anthem before NFL football games as a way to protest against police brutality in America.
As a Double R intern, we have the choice to cover news for any topic that we want and after considering many options, my partner and I decided to cover the March for Racial Justice on Saturday, September 30th. We chose this particular event because it’s a very important issue that needs to be addressed in this country. This event is already said to reach the thousands as people from D.C. and other surrounding cities and states are coming to protest. The March for Racial Justice is a multi-community movement that has been organized to, “resist the U.S. laws, policies, and practices that remain steeped in racism and white supremacy.” (March for Racial Justice press release) The gathering will begin at Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill, after hearing a series of different speakers; the marching will start towards the Capitol and past the Department of Justice before finishing at the National Mall. At sundown, there will be a vigil at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. We plan on covering this event by getting interviews not only with protesters but also with organizers of the event. As of right now, we have secured an interview with Maurice Cook, co-founder and co-chair of the event. As we prepare, I have to make sure that all my questions are well prepared for both sides of the protest. I am a little nervous because there is a high likelihood that there will be many people who oppose this rally and I don’t know how willing they will be to talk to me about the topic of racial injustice in America. During this experience, I really hope to take away knowledge of the plan on fighting for social justice and equality for everyone. Through this video, I wish for people to not only become educated about this cause but also get involved and combat such an issue as racial injustice. It is essential to educate those who are ignorant to the many racial problems here in this country.
In conclusion, while racial tensions in America have eased tremendously, there is a lot of work that needs to be done. I am truly thankful that Double R has been able to give me a platform to explore this issue.
