A Black Man’s Perspective of January 6, 2021

January 6th, 2021 is a day that will go down in history. Proof that there is still racism in America. Proof that when you are Black in America you are seen as a threat just because of the color of your skin, while your white counterparts are allowed to literally terrorize the Capitol with no worries of consequence.

How did these rioters get inside the White House? Easy they were a majority of white men who are not shot on site. How can this happen? Why did the police let this happen? Where was the secret service? A lot of questions that will go unanswered I am sure.

Let’s be clear: this was a terrorist attack.

This was a terrorist attack on the United States Congress instigated by the President of the US. This is a day I never thought I would live to see. President Trump told those congregated to march to the Capitol and stop the count.

I like to stick to the facts. What is terrorism? Why aren’t they being called terrorists?

The FBI says: Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85).

Why aren’t they being called terrorists? We already know the answer to that question.

For weeks, online chatter discussed this scenario. We knew what was going to happen. So why were the police not prepared for this? Why do we see video of them literally running from these “protestors”? They did not prepare for what the chatter blatantly said they were going to do, because they aren’t afraid of white people the same way they are afraid of Black people.

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Let me give an example: The state-building in Kenosha was surrounded by a very high fence, in preparation for backlash for not charging the officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

They also called the National Guard to prepare for what turned out to be a peaceful demonstration. Take a look here at how they prepared for what turned out to be a peaceful protest in Kenosha.

The city council voted unanimously to activate the national guard. 17-0 So if Black people are involved then activate the national guard put up fences and protect the building. Just in case!!!! But…

The Capitol Building in D.C.

Meanwhile, at the Capitol building in Washington D.C., this is how they prepared for the unrest that we all knew was going to happen. There have been months of preparation for this moment and the predominantly white men whom Trump activated and told them to march down to the Capitol and take it back knew they would find little resistance.

He (Donald Trump) stated we are going to march down to the Capitol to help the weak republicans change their minds. I paraphrased that. His actual comments can be seen here and this is moments before they literally committed acts of terrorism and stormed into the Capitol building. Disrupting the count of the electoral college votes. The outcome: one woman dead and minimal arrests.

Let’s get into this. How in the hell did they get into the Capitol building? How were they allowed to get in? From a Black Man’s perspective, this was allowed to happen because they were predominantly white men. In this country, Black people are seen as a threat no matter what the situation. There is no way that a predominantly Black gathering would have been allowed to get that far.

Here are a series of pictures I have gathered that will show just how far some of the individuals in this armed mob got.

I guarantee if this was a Black Lives Matter movement or a peaceful march that included Black men and women, that the police and National Guard would have been present days before.

Why was the National guard not activated prior to this gathering? They were activated well after this picture was taken. We knew they would be there, we all knew that the proud boys and other Trump supporters were going to do something to try and stop this proceeding. They were armed and once Donald Trump told them to, they mobilized on the Capitol Building.

No one is even looking for these two. If they were Black they would have been executed upon arrival, and definitely if they tried to leave. They appear to be unarmed but in America, if you are Black, you get shot anyway.

This is unacceptable.

You know it, and I know it: this is unacceptable. But what do we do next?

Say something. Do something. Stop putting up with that racist family member, stop being quiet when you see racism taking place. Stop being so comfortable in your privilege that you ignore politics.

It is time to take a stand. There is no equality in America for Black people. This is just one example of the differences we as minorities and disenfranchised Black Americans face in America. So, what are you going to do about it?