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Kwani A. Lunis

Multimedia Journalist

Rid me on my melanin

Yesterday I tried to change my skin. I closed my eyes, squeezing out every ounce of light from my corneas, wishing I could peel off this brown bodysuit called melanin.

Maybe if we were all the same color we’d have no reason to hate. Right?

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At 6 am I scroll through my Twitter timeline, as I usually do, when I fall upon a hashtag; #AltonSterling 

I’ve seen a number of these viral videos in recent years:
I watched as Eric Garner cried “I can’t breathe” while NYPD officers held him in an illegal choke-hold.

I watched in North Charleston, South Carolina when an officer gunned down 50- year old Walter Scott was running for his life.

I watched an underage girl was dragged in her bathing suit in McKinney, Texas.

Oh yeah, and there was the other young girl, in Spring Valley, SC, viciously dragged out of her school desk for acting out in class.

…but this one was different. Like a dam with nothing left to give, I broke.

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I don’t like tears.

 

Mascara smudges, eyeliner fades away and before I know it I look like one of Bozo’s long lost cousins.

I think about the many lives that were lost to gun violence this year and then, just as quickly, I forget.

At midnight I prepare to end my day, the same way I had began it. I scroll through my Twitter once more and there it was. Another hashtag.

#FalconHeightsShooting paired with 

Twice in less than 24 hours I was reminded of a pain I had tried to forget. Between gun violence and law enforcement egoism, my thoughts are scrambled. My heart races at 90 beats per minute as I try to put into words how I feel, and all I can say is this:

I don’t want to close my eyes tonight. Maybe if I keep them open long enough, another life won’t be lost as I blink.

I can’t say with certainty why these men were murdered in cold blood. I can’t say that their encounters with those cops were without cause, but when will the senseless deaths come to an end?

When there is nothing but a pattern of black men and women being slaughtered, what else is one left to think? What if you woke up in fear that the next victim was the person you loved most?

They tell me this is a post-racial society. They say, “I don’t see color.” Hmmm. Is that to say that you’d rather not address the “brown” elephant in the room? Let’s just cut out the chapter about the taboo history of this land, a history that that expects us to instinctual hate our fellow man.

I have experienced firsthand what that hatred can do to one’s heart, and roots that deep take centuries to uproot. 

I want no part of it. 

Racism is very much alive, but we can all do our part to obliterate its remains for good. If you see this statement as false, then you are also a part of the problem.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life” Proverbs 4:23

Why don’t we just stop killing each other? Who are we to decide another’s length of time on this earth?

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Have you ever stood in the shower for hours, hoping the scorching water would wash away the melanin?

I have.

Then I remembered that my “black is beautiful”and I will live fearlessly in the skin I’m in.

 

Kwani’s Official Review

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Source: Kwani’s Official Review

Kwani’s Official Review

Please subscribe and re-blog this post to catch all the “Kwani’s Official Review” episodes once they drop! Like right now 😜 — It’s quick and easy, just click the link here, and BOOM! you’re done– My goal is 500 by Friday- Thanks for your support!image1

On the Margins of Title Nine

On the Margins of Title Nine– Women’s professional hockey in a way you’ve never seen it.

Will the #USWNT bring home the Women’s World Cup on Sunday? 

What’s your take? #USWNT

Trust

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”(Proverbs 3:5-6)

In one of my MANY encounters with financial aid I was told “if you can’t afford to be here, then maybe you and your family should look into alternative options”

Although those words discouraged me at the time, I am glad I didn’t give up. By the books it may seem impossible that I went to a school like Boston College, but with God there’s always a way. Yesterday I received a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and on June 1st will be starting my first job at WBZ TV- CBS Boston.

So yeah, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and he will see you through — and NEVER give up on your dreams!

On May 18th, 2015 I obtained a Bachelor's degree from Boston College
On May 18th, 2015 I obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College

The Many Roads to Success

No matter what your aspirations may be, there are many roads to success. Mentors are fine, and advice is even better, but at the end of the day we all have an individual journey to success.

When history repeats…

The following is what I posted on Facebook earlier today after a disheartening experience at a local restaurant near my university. I am not one to call a person a racist, sexist, or label someone in any way; but I can say that I was treated without respect last night and no one should ever feel the way I did as I walked out of that building.Without regard to race, gender, religion, et cetera. Everyone has the right to respect and that is not my friends and I were given

To all my AHANA students at Boston College please do not give your business to CitySide restaurant in Cleveland Circle. I have never been one to “play the race card” but me and three of my friends walked into the restaurant, sat at the empty bar, were refused service. We were told that the building was full to capacity (despite the empty tables) though we walked in with four other white people who were not kicked out. As he kicked us out, while threatening to call the police, he gave us a devilish smirk, spelled out his name [Anthony] and allowed 6 other white women to enter his establishment. I understand that discrimination cases are hard to prove, but I have never been treated as inhumanely as I was tonight. The saddest part of all was knowing that there was no “authority” I could call that would hear my case and defend me. This is the America I live in.

One person commented on this status saying that “…it is not a good look to cry wolf” to which I responded; “…Maybe I’m the crying wolf but hopefully this time someone hears it because in this country our cries have gone unheard for too long.”

Please join in the discussion. You can read the status and comments here.

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Liberty and Justice for Who?

Every morning the school bell would ring and there I would stand with my right hand on my heart:
“…One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
 In my elementary school days, I would recite every word of this country’s mantra, proud to be a citizen of this great nation. Or so I thought. In recent days, that hand has become too heavy to hold up and my voice has grown weak.
I have never been the protesting type. In my mind, this country has never done me wrong, at least not directly, so I felt no reason to speak out. 
 Of course I learned about Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Angela Davis, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ruby Bridges, Maya Angelou, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and all of the others, but yet it seems as though their labor were almost in vain. 
The list of black men and women killed at the hands of white supremacy should cause this country to look in the mirror in shame. Do not get me wrong, there has been progress since that first slave ship landed on this land 395 years ago.
 
Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar GrantEzell Ford, Rodney King, John Crawford, Aiyana StanleySean Bell, Patrick Dorismond, Amadou DialloCorey M. Brown, DeAunta Terrel FarrowDerrick JonesEmmett Till, Guy Jarreau Jr., Jimmell Cannon, Kenneth Harding, Kiwane Carrington, Orlando Barlow, Ousmane Zongo, Ramarley Graham, Reginald Doucet, Rekia Boyd, Ronald Madison, Steven Eugene Washington, Tarika Wilson, Travares McGill, Victor Steen, Wendell Allen, Trayvon Martin, and that list goes on as well. 
Me, Desiree Houston, Lakeisha St. Joy, and Jasmine Jemeison march in a non-violent protest at Boston College. Photo Cred: Emily Fahey/BC Heights
Me, Desiree Houston, Lakeisha St. Joy, and Jasmine Jemeison march in a non-violent protest at Boston College. Photo Cred: Emily Fahey/BC Heights
I have never been the protesting type, however I have always been an American. I was born and raised in this country, and it’s my constitution that ensure Liberty and Justice for ALL of its citizens. The blood, sweat, and tears of black men and women helped build this country into what it is today. I’m not asking for much. I don’t want 40 acres and a mule, because it’s a little late for that; I just want liberty and justice for those who share my complexion. And you know what hurts the most? The fact that I currently attend a liberal arts institution and am more vulnerable to this harassment than ever before. We call ourselves educated and yet we still have “colleagues” calling us thugs, gorillas and of course, good old-fashioned N——s. 
 
I was not ever raised to be a victim, and I will not be one now, but something must be done. I am hurt by institutional racism. I am repulsed by black on black crime, but livid due to white on black violence as well. Most of all I am disappointed with the African-Americans of these “United” States. We have become so comfortable in this country that we forgot that respect is not given, but earned. There are so many factors to this argument, so many levels and complexities that I myself cannot wrap my head around it, but in the end we are all at fault for where this country is now.
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
Churchill was right, because history has taken a complete 360, and something must be done to break the cycle. I do not have answers, but the first step to change is unity on both sides. We must all realize where we have gone wrong and be willing to change. 
 
Nowadays, I rarely hear the Pledge of Allegiance, but at sporting events (I watch a lot of those), I hear the national anthem:
“…O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
o’er the land of the free
and the home of the brave?”
No it does not. But until it does my arms will lay at my sides, unable to hold the heart which once beat with pride for this country. 
 
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