The first step towards change is to stop being silent. (Picture)

 

I never once heard the name Angela Davis during my education. I never heard the name Fred Hampton. I never heard of the Tulsa Massacre, Emmet Till, James Reeb, and countless others. I was told the civil war was not fought over slavery. I was told that Native Americans and the pilgrims simply "got along." I was lied to. Constantly. Ruthlessly. Systematically. People say they tired of politics. They're tired of being forced to actually look at our country and the seemingly eternal flaws being equally praised and ignored. I say, too bad. Silence is complicit and if you want to change things, the first step is to stop being silent.