VOICES: THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT CAN HELP US IS US BY ZURI FLEMING (10K.ZURI)

I will try to keep this essay brief and concise, although I don’t know if that will be feasible given the subject at hand.

When it comes to how I feel about the current state affairs in Richmond and the United States, I would have to say that I have rather ambivalent feelings towards it all. It’s hard to know exactly what to feel and express it in an adequate manner.

I will say that it’s hard for me to judge right or wrong to however anyone is feeling. If you feel angry, anxious, uneasy, sad, or even apathetic, those are all very valid emotions.

Personally, I have felt very overwhelmed, but that’s mostly because I don’t know what is, or what should be, the next (and best) course of action. What can be done to assuage the turmoil that is felt by the Black community in Richmond, and Black communities across the world.

I often sit and ruminate upon this question only to leave myself feeling frustrated. I feel like as an artist, and leader in my community, I should have some sort of concrete solution or idea, but the truth is I’m just as disoriented as everyone else.

The only thing that gives me relief is music (and the process of creating it), but apart from that, I struggle to break from the discomfort I feel in regards to everything that’s going on.

Let’s face it, renaming plazas and knocking down a few statues will not do much overall.  I’m not saying that they should remain, I just think there are more pertinent issues that the Black community should focus on in the fight for equality and justice.

In addition, I don’t think that our elected politicians and the people in positions of power are really for us; I don’t think that they are committed to helping us. If we want to see even an iota of change, as a people, we have to combine our resources, manpower, intellect, and make the changes happen ourselves.

I’ve come to realize is that we have to help ourselves: The only people that can help us is us.

Unfortunately, those with the power to do better never do, and it doesn’t seem like they ever will.

Zuri Fleming (10k.Zuri) is a musician and founder of Beats, Rhythm, & Life, a collective for the youth by the youth.