Is This Mic On?

Is anyone listening?

I know everybody sees what’s going on… but do you actually hear them?

Do you hear what people are really saying underneath the noise?

I can’t make sense of everything that’s happened in the last 24 hours.

But I can tell you what it looked like to me.

What I saw on my television screen—from coast to coast—was more than chaos.

It was a cry to be heard.

People are tired.

And I’m not just talking about people who look like me.

I’m talking about us as a society.

We are tired of explanations that don’t fix anything.

Tired of being told “this is just how it is.”

Tired of watching the same cycles repeat with different names and different faces.

I remember being in middle school when someone I thought was my best friend called me the N-word.

Up until that point, I had only heard that word in history lessons.

I knew it was wrong.

But I had never felt it.

Not like that.

Hearing it from someone I trusted?

It broke something in me.

Now, I won’t sit here and act like I’ve experienced every form of racism there is.

I haven’t.

But I’m not naïve either.

I know discrimination doesn’t always come loud and obvious.

Sometimes it’s quiet.

Sometimes it’s behind your back.

Sometimes it’s right in your face… and you don’t even realize it until later.

So no—I can’t speak for everyone.

But I can say this with confidence:

Any amount of racism is too much.

Even when it comes from your own people.

And right now?

What we’re seeing is frustration.

Deep, layered, built-up frustration.

And I need to say this too…

We are not alone in this.

There are people—of all backgrounds—standing out there together.

Protesting.

Speaking up.

Demanding change.

I was in a Lyft today, talking to a woman who didn’t look like me, but she felt this just the same.

She told me she was scared watching everything unfold.

Not just because of what was happening…

But because she was afraid the message would get lost in the chaos.

She has African-American sons.

And her fear?

Wasn’t just about last night.

It was about what comes next.

And that right there…

That’s real.

Because while I’m not here to glorify rioting or looting…

I do understand where the emotion is coming from.

When you look at it from a bigger picture, the frustration doesn’t come from one thing.

It comes from everything.

You’ve got people working hard every single day…

And still not able to move forward.

Still stuck.

Still trying to figure out why their effort isn’t enough.

You’ve got lower-income families trying to reach stability…

But life keeps throwing obstacles in the way.

And after a while, it starts to feel like the door was never meant to open for you in the first place.

Then you’ve got the middle class…

Working just as hard…

Trying to hold onto what they’ve built…

But living with the constant fear that one setback could take it all away.

And through all of that…

It starts to feel like the systems in place care more about profit than people.

Like corporations and government benefit the most…

While the people doing the work are left struggling.

We work hard.

But for what sometimes feels like… not enough.

And then on top of that…

There’s a growing feeling that nobody in power is really listening.

Not the federal level.

Not the local level.

It starts to feel like if you don’t make a certain amount of money…

If you don’t sit in certain rooms…

Your problems don’t matter the same.

So what do people do when they feel unheard?

They get louder.

And sometimes…

That loudness doesn’t come out pretty.

People are hurting.

People are frustrated.

People are tired of feeling invisible.

And yes, I know I can’t speak for every single person out there.

Everyone has their own reason for being part of this moment.

Whether they were peacefully protesting earlier…

Or part of what happened later that night.

But if there’s one message that ties it all together, it’s this:

We want equality.

Not a version of it.

Not a delayed version of it.

Not a conditional version of it.

Real equality.

In opportunity.

In treatment.

In humanity.

Because in a country that calls itself free…

That shouldn’t be too much to ask.

This moment is uncomfortable.

It’s heavy.

It’s unfortunate.

But it’s not new.

People have been sounding the alarm for a long time.

So now the question isn’t what’s happening.

We can all see that.

The real question is:

Are you listening now?