Aleah: Black Lives Matter

• What’s your ethnic and religious heritage?
I am Canadian born with Jamaican parents and gained US citizenship at age 11. I grew up in the Pentecostal Christian denomination.

• What’s your earliest memory of becoming aware that some people looked different from you?
I don’t remember my earliest moment of noticing when someone looked different than me. However, I remember realizing that I was always actively looking for people who looked like me. When we moved to Cleveland, TN, we were the only black family attending our church for seven years. One day, there was another black family that showed up with a girl around my age and I couldn’t stop staring. I was drawn to her and her family and watched them throughout the church service. It was in that moment that I realized I’ve always been looking for a representation of myself because in those places, I enter into spaces where I feel I can breathe.

• What’s your earliest memory of becoming aware of racism? In third grade, I had a crush on a boy and I saw him sneak off with another little girl and some other people. I joined and spectated as he said, “watch this.” And gave the girl a peck on the lips. The girl who was kissed started smiling and everyone else shared different reactions of gasps, ew’s, or oooo’s. The girl who was kissed was biracial. She was of Indian descent and white, and her skin was several shades darker than mine. One of my friends knew I had a crush on him and said “kiss Aleah next!” He replied, “No, I’m never kissing a black girl.” I was seven.

• What’s one way you think your life would have been different had you been born another race?
We are all learning about the injustices that people of color face daily. I don’t want to think about being another race. I want to just be black and let that be enough.

• What is one way you think you could connect with white people who have differing views about race?
It is not my job or responsibility to connect with white people who have differing views about race. It is up to them to quiet their thoughts on something they are not experiencing and learn to listen to people of color who are experiencing race and the ways we’re being affected by it. Spectating is easily done. Listening and learning to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is what brings growth and real change.