Written for DTO Magazine in September '21
“We got next.” A message that defines the next generation, who is ready to take their crown. The idea that we’re stronger in unison is one that transcends beyond the individual. Unity is to stand together not just during the good times, but in the face of adversity, as well. With the next generation ready to take their crown, it is important to understand that unity is needed now more than ever in order to combat the coming turbulence.
“What is that coming turbulence?” You might be asking yourself. Well just take a look around you. Not only have we seen a continued assault on our black men, women, and children, but we have also seen an abuse of power and overreach by the hands of the government, police, and other tools of the system. The turbulence is already here, and unifying is the only chance we have at combating it.
Unification has shown in the past to be effective in many facets of life. Hell, it’s the reason we’re all here today. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ but have you ever stopped to think what else that village is needed for? In times of crisis, unification of the village is the only way to topple your combatant, and there’s tons of past and present examples. It dates all the way back to the 1800s with Nat Turner’s slave revolt, and continues throughout the decades. From the Civil Rights Movement of the mid 20th century to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, the world has shown us that our unification is the only way to get the tides moving in a favorable direction for all.
If it weren’t for the preachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the teachings of Malcolm X, we would not have seen such a mass turnout back in the days of Jim Crow, and would likely still be segregated by race. One of the biggest preachers of unification had to have been Fred Hampton, who called out the issues that plague our society to be not driven by division of race, but class, as well. His assassination at the hands of the FBI at just 21 years old goes to show that he was onto something, and that his preachings of unification were so powerful that the federal government stepped in to silence him. He unified various gangs in the city of Chicago in order to fight against the arms of oppression, and despite his death in December 1969, his mission still lives on today.
Unity is essential right now. We have been losing our peers left and right. Adam Toledo, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Daunte Wright, Terrance Franklin, William Jeannette, Klevontaye White, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. When will it end? When will we see an end to the executions of our brothers and sisters at the hands of the oppressor? The answer is when we unify. No matter your race, religion, or system of beliefs, we all have a common enemy: the oppressor. Until we come together and pick each other up when something pushes us down, we will only continue to see an increase in police brutality, abuse of power, and general overreach.
Unity is needed to combat not just the oppressor, but long-lasting issues, like climate change, the homelessness crisis, the opioid crisis, lack of effective structure and immigration processes at our borders, the military industrial complex, the amount of people in our prisons. We are supposed to be the land of the free, yet a majority of our citizens are treated as subhuman by those in power. Those who are supposed to be there for the benefit of the people. It is clear that they have only attained power to help themselves, and it is time that we come together and show that the real power is in the people.
In acknowledging that the power is in the people, it is also important to acknowledge that some have lost their way. You can see it all over the city of Chicago, young men and women battling mental health issues while in the midst of losing those around them. It’s a concoction for disaster, as some don’t understand the effect their actions have on the communities around them. Bullets whizzing down blocks full of children, funerals being cut short by automatic weapons, back to school community events ending in tragedy. The root causes can be traced back to lack of proper mental health care, poorly funded neighborhoods, and the lack of real leaders in the community. Unification is the remedy, because only together can we combat the diseases that plague the minds of our youth and prevent any more bloodshed. In times of crisis, once again, it is important to come together and not only pick each other up, but hold each other accountable.
Hope is not lost, in fact, it is at its most strong right now. Despite the looming issues that continue to plague our society, there are tons of faces who are working to combat them. All over the nation, there are people like Michael Airhart, who feeds homeless people all throughout Chicago through Taste For The Homeless, SZNVibes, who works to bring people together through his music and company, Defy The Odds, Kimisha Moxley, who puts on for Chicago through her brand KimProducts, and so many others. There are people who are planting the seeds for unification, but they need your help.
It is time to come together and defy the odds that are stacked against us. No longer shall we stand by in the face of tyranny and allow our rights to continuously be infringed upon. No longer shall we allow our brothers and sisters to go to sleep at night and wake up to the sounds of gunfire down the block. No longer shall we turn the other cheek to the injustices those around us continue to face. We must come together if we want to see real change.
SZNVibes, also known as Cory, said it best. While he was referring to creatives, this same statement can be applied to communities at large. It is important “to bring creatives together in a positive sense, not on no hating shit, not on no me against you type shit. We’re together in this, we could grow together, we could vibe together, we could chill together, we could make music, we could fucking take photos, we could do everything together, you know what I mean? I feel like in Chicago there’s a lot of envy towards people who do the same thing as you, and I just wanted to create a safe place where [people] feel welcomed.”
In today’s hectic climate, it is crucial to remember the importance of unity. Despite the growing number of challenges at our doorstep, if we stand together, not only can we keep each other’s spirits high, but we can also combat the challenges without the looming fear of being silenced. Power is in the people, as it always has been, and right now is the time to come together.
Yes, it’ll be hard. Yes, we will run into roadblocks. There will be times where it feels like the world is against us, but we cannot forget the importance of unity. It will set us free and allow us to enjoy life to the fullest. Power is in the people, and now is when we need it the most. This isn’t a piece I wrote to be pessimistic, nor am I urging you to combat every single oppressive force in your life, I am simply asking you to remember the strength that we have together, and urging you to do your part to unify your community.
“We got next” is a statement that defines a generation, with the keyword being WE. If we don’t come together, the crown that we have so elegantly been waiting on will never be handed down to us, and we will continue to watch our communities be mismanaged, overrun with mental health issues, poverty, and despair. Instead of being hyper-individualistic, it is important to look out for our brothers and sisters and make sure we unify as a community not only for the strength of the next generation, but future generations to come. It is time to defy the odds.
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