October 12, 1492. The day which etched the foundation of racism and genocide in the American nation. Yes, it’s the day that Christopher Columbus found the Americas. “They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. They would make fine servants.” were his first infiltrating thoughts that would begin to shape a nation involved in slave-trade. 1495 witnessed these thoughts roll into action with the slave conquest of the Native Americans – the first milestone in dominating the western continent. The first of myriad genocides to come. The beginning.

As the next century dawned, so did the infringement of humanity. The 1500s gave rise to the brutal transatlantic slave trade that reincarnated for three centuries. In this time, 12.5 million African slaves were ruthlessly kidnapped, finding themselves on harrowing journeys. By depriving the African continent of its most valuable resource—its healthiest and ablest men and women, slavery was poisoning the past, present and future relations between nations. The curtains of our textbooks shroud their suffering. Their pain. Their agony. And most of all, the inhumanity. We do not feel the heart-wrenching ache of being separated from family members. We do not feel the nerve- wracking moments before a whipping. Most importantly, we do not feel the heartbreaking numbness of racial discrimination.

The 17th and 18th centuries redefined African humanity to the world. The blacks were exploited and worked in drudgery for the production of tobacco and cotton. These plantations constituted whipping and rape as routine. The abuse of power and derogatory insults were a staple. However, after American independence and the eruption of civil war, the mid-19th century encapsulated a ray of hope. The emergence of the Emancipation Proclamation on 1st January 1863, was a critical inflection point in the Black freedom struggle. Although the official enforcement took place on 19th June 1865, the movement remained profound. 1865 further invigorated the movement by ratifying the 13th amendment and formally abolishing slavery in the United States. Despite all this, was the racial conundrum over?

The next century heralded its own trials and tribulations. The 1900s highlighted the deeply entrenched racial, economic and educational disparities in the American constitution. The hierarchies and hostilities in the new system hindered black migrants’ paths to opportunities and equality. Unemployment, segregation and educational discrimination were rampant. African- Americans found themselves further marginalized after the 1918 and 1945 world wars. The myriad acts of white supremacy, disenfranchisement and discrimination birthed several civil rights movements such as the Underground Railroad, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Black Lives Matter movement.

You’d think that the oppressors were finally tired. Yet here we are in 2020 witnessing the most outrageous and inhumane acts of injustice. George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. A few of the many names that have suffered the horrendous brutalities of white supremacy and for what? What was their fault? What disruption had they caused? With injustices such as these, violent upheaval is inevitable. On 26th May, the citizens of the United States finally stepped out of the comfort of their ignorance to embody the cries of justice. Justice for all the unnoticed deaths. Justice for the suffering. Justice for the persisting racist legacy of slavery in the forms of policing, flawed justice systems and societal outlook.

Everything you need to know about the Black Lives Matter Movement. https://blacklivesmatter.com