In the last 7 days, the world has seen Americans take a stand on a cause that impacts us all. The mass mobilization of people in such a way is something I have not witnessed before. Up until recently, the only experience we all shared was COVID19. Now we are the part of the #BLACKLIVESMATTER MOVEMENT.

Regardless of the what the media is reporting, which has predominately been on looting and violence. The more important and vital thing for society is people are finally speaking out. They choose not be silent and put their support behind this movement - #BlackLivesMatter

It can be so easy to be quiet and accept the way things are. As person of color myself, there has been a number of experiences in my life where I had just accepted and moved on.

White Privilege is real and we all see it in our day to day lives. Ignoring it hasn't helped. Lets try something different.

America isn’t alone in stepping up. Countries around this beautiful planet of ours are voicing out and coming together through largely peaceful protests., social media and in local communities. Just looking at the map below gives me great comfort and a sense of inner peace.

This isn’t an issue just in USA. This is a worldwide issue.

In Australia, the aboriginal people have gone through this - Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance (WAR)

In India, its more about religion than color but the issue is there.

I can go on and on…People regardless of race, color, gender and sexual preference are people and deserve and should be treated equally and with respect.

My only fear about the protests itself is that we may be significantly increasing the risk of COVID19. Some protest organizers are taking more precautions than others. Some are live streaming on Facebook and Youtube for people who cannot make it to the protests. I hope and pray that the very few who are thinking of taking advantage of these protests for their own gain by being violent and loot, please STAY HOME. This is not your fight. We do not need you. We cannot let these people tarnish this movement.

What can we do?

• More importantly, we as people, as mere civilians, regardless of color, need to change our thinking and our perspectives on how we react and behave. Our actions and reactions towards one another should not be based on color.
• Call people out who are intentionally or unintentionally treating people differently because of color, race, religion, gender etc they need to be made aware that this has to stop. We need to respectfully call it out.
• Talk to your children, explain to them. If we give our children the right foundation, they will be best pleased to ensure people at the end of the day are treated like people.
• We do not have to protest. However, staying quiet isn’t an option either. Do something. We have been doing nothing for so long. This is not a one men mission. Neither is this a one day mission. This is a mission where all 7 billion of us need to participate and continue working towards this for days, months and years to come.
• USA - Pressure government at all levels to terminate the legal doctrine of Qualified Immunity. This shields government officials from being sued for actions performed within their official capacity. This protects police from law suits and holds them to a different set of standards than the rest of us.
• USA - DO YOUR PART. VOTE out local officials who basically work with local authorities through a buddy system (Prosecutors, District attorney and the Police) where they protect each other rather than protecting the public. You know who the corrupt ones are in your local government. If you do not know, find out. Doing nothing is not an option. It may be just the few bad apples. However, not taking steps to rectify the bad apples is the real problem that has plagued us for centuries.
• EARTH - the above applies just as much to every country in the world as it applies to USA. Make a stand, vote. Don’t be part of a corrupt system. Be part of a system thats fighting the corrupt system.

This movement is one giant leap for mankind. It will truly change the future of generations to come. And I’m pumped. And the next time, there will not be a knee on anyone’s neck. AND if there is, Im confident that the surrounding people will step forward and LET PEOPLE BREATH FREELY.

WE PEACEFULLY STAND UNITED and in SOLIDARITY:

#BlackLivesMatter and #LIVESMATTER

P.S I thought long and hard about writing this letter to the world and to myself. There are millions tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram photos on this matter. Sadly, in time, those will disappear but for me, this letter will always be here for me and for the people like me who care. We cannot just forgot this.