A BLACK MAN'S STORY. 

There are things that people witness in life that should never be seen—acts of violence, injustice, and cruelty that leave scars on the soul. Yet what often lingers most is not just the trauma of those moments but the silence that follows. The loud, oppressive silence that hangs over families, communities, and generations as they watch loved ones suffer, yet feel powerless to stop it. The silence of bystanders, the silence of those who’ve been taught that certain struggles are inevitable, that certain harms are just a part of life.

For far too long, many have stood by in silence as people they care about have been harmed—physically, mentally, and emotionally. The damage done is profound, the wounds deep, and the effects linger, sometimes for decades. It’s the kind of pain that echoes in nightmares, that manifests in physical ailments, like headaches and sleepless nights. And this pain is not carried by one person alone. It’s carried by entire communities—communities that have been taught to accept a system of oppression that harms some while allowing others, by the simple fact of their skin color, to live with privilege.

We are taught to normalize the struggles of life, to accept that this is just the way things are. But the cost of this silence is unbearable. As time passes, the pain doesn’t fade. It lives on in the hearts and minds of those who saw the harm but did nothing. The guilt, the shame, the helplessness—it doesn’t go away. Instead, it becomes a part of us, shaping how we live, how we think, how we suffer in silence.

And this silence, this learned acceptance of wrongs and injustice, is now embedded in our daily lives. We have become numb to the pain that once shocked us. Today, when someone tries to speak out, they’re often met with indifference or even ridicule. People ask, “Why does it matter? Why should we be different when everyone else has accepted this reality?” But this isn’t how things should be.

We cannot continue to live in silence. We cannot continue to accept the harm done to our loved ones, our communities, and ourselves. The silence has cost too much already. It’s time to break free from the numbness and complacency that have settled into our lives. It’s time to speak up—not just for ourselves, but for all those who suffer in silence, for all those who can no longer speak.

If we continue to accept the wrongs, if we continue to inflict harm on ourselves and our communities, then we are complicit in our own suffering. The silence that once protected us now traps us. But we don’t have to be silent anymore. We don’t have to accept a reality that is built on harm, injustice, and indifference. The time has come to break the silence, to acknowledge the damage that has been done, and to refuse to let it continue. Even if it’s uncomfortable, even if we’re labeled as different or difficult, we must speak out, because the silence is suffocating—and it’s killing us.