There seems to be this idea that poc wanting to create safe spaces for their own people is segregation. No honey, segregation is when you beat my grandfather nearly to death when he entered in a whites only entrance.
Seriously do people not realize what the word “safe” means?
Safe means that you need a place where you don’t feel scared, not “I’m better than you so you go and use that crappy water fountain over there.”
Furthermore, do people think we like the fact that we need to set up safe places when it’s almost 2016? Do they not get how tragic it is to hear stories from our parents and grandparents about how terrible the world was because they were around during actual, legalized segregation? Do they not get how heartbreaking it is to see their faces when they realize that my generation and younger generations are still facing that bullshit today, only now, people can disguise it with “we had the Civil Rights Movement, we’re fine, so stop making it about race.”
Honestly, do people think we want these safe places and black movements to be necessary? More than anyone else we want to be able to say “this stuff is unnecessary, we’re fine.” But guess what? We don’t have the luxury of wearing those blinders.
We can’t afford to.