By Chaseedaw Giles, The Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2020.
Recently, as I scrolled the more than 1 million tweets connected to the hashtag #Black_Lives_Matter, this is what flashed before my eyes: the black-and-white dashcam video of Philando Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, in handcuffs crying, her 4-year-old daughter trying to comfort her; protesters in Berlin standing in solidarity with the BLM movement; a video of a young, Black girl calling herself ugly; police attacking protesters and protesters fighting back; an image of George Floyd unable to breathe.
Suddenly neither could I. My chest tightened, my heart beat faster and hot tears began to bubble from my eyes.
For a person of color, engaging in this moment of collective trauma — whether by watching and sharing the video of George Floyd’s death, discussing racial injustice on social media or speaking out in the physical world — involves anxiously teetering across the fine lines between personal experience, obligations to the community and — in my case — professional responsibilities. Since I manage a news organization’s social media platforms, it’s part of my job.
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