President Joe Biden should know when to say less - particularly in regard to how the Black community should or should not respond to police brutality. On January 27th, in an official statement posted to Twitter at 5:20 pm PST,  the President said that “Those who seek justice should not resort to violence or destruction. Violence is never acceptable; it is illegal and destructive.” His statement came moments before the bodycam footage of the brutal murder of Tyre Nichols by the Memphis Police Department was released.

I was sitting on a plane when the text rolled across my phone. My stomach dropped to the floor as I stared into my tea, which was quickly replaced with alcohol.

It should be possible to be Black, stand for anti-racism, and remain anti-Black in praxis. Sadly, not all Black people believe in liberation for all Black people, particularly Black marginalized genders. Deeply embedded misogynoir tropes gradually float to the surface.

Amerikkan culture is white supremacy. None of us can have an accurate lens to reflect on life’s options, decisions, and accomplishments; our lives are 100% informed by white supremacist culture.

On January 25, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis called the murder of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, “heinous, reckless, and inhumane”. In the same statement, she pulled on threads of our linked fate by referring to herself as “a citizen of this community we share; I am a mother, I am a caring human being who wants the best for all of us.”