It’s time for us to stand together against a still oppressive America. Not as individual groups, advocating for equity and equality for specific racial groups, but as a whole coalition. The only way we’re going to beat this tidal wave of systematic oppression, is by becoming allies of one another’s movements.

In the ‘60s, the Black Panthers fought alongside the Brown Berets and though the latter group has gone underappreciated historically, they are equally important to creating the revolutionary vibe of that time.

Unfortunately, when it comes to racial tension in America, things are often swept under the rug after minor changes have been made. After segregation was made illegal and they did away with discrimination based on race, sex or religion, many thought we no longer needed to fight for anything.

Regardless of how people came to that conclusion, it’s wrong. For proof, watch the news or log onto any social media platform. Just like any other historical era, black and brown folks are being slaughtered and incarcerated at alarming rates while whites in positions of power find excuses to justify the many human rights violations committed daily.

And that’s just the issue being portrayed in the media. There are still issues with immigration policy, and with the upcoming election, tensions are higher than ever.

There’s still a massive debate about whether or not the United States should be accepting Syrian referees.

Since September 11, the far right has condemned Muslims, labeling them all as terrorists while ignoring the terrorists within our own country. Mass shooters, if white, are often given the benefit of the doubt because “they’re lonely and mentally ill,” but any other race or ethnicity, they are “radicalized and violent.”

Is it too much to ask for racial fairness in these modern times?

Of course it is.

Without systematic oppression, the people who hold the most power would have a legitimate reason to be worried ­— a rebellion disrupting their entire way of being.

There was once a time when middle class Europeans and African slaves worked together to overthrow rich Europeans — that is until those at the top turned poor whites against poor blacks, cultivating this idea that people are superior based on skin color.

We have Caucasian allies and it helps, but not as much as it should. These people are often dismissed as traitors or self-hating whenever they try to make the argument that people of color should be treated with common decency. This continues to plague not only the United States but other countries as well, both first and third world. The U.S. is infamous for its race issues. In 2014, we were called out by North Korea of all places, via KCNA article titled “New Analysis on Poor Human Rights in the U.S.”

It was written because people were upset with the United Nations criticizing their country and not the U.S. or its allies. This doesn’t mean they were wrong — hypocritical for sure, but not wrong. A study on racial bias conducted by Washington Post and Insider Monkey lists the most racist countries in the world, and guess what? The U.S. doesn’t even crack the top 25. And though we’re sometimes seen as the pinnacle of intolerance, people often forget that “nice” countries have these issues as well. 

What this says is that racism is overwhelmingly widespread. They say music is a universal language but one could argue that discrimination speaks to us all as well whether we’re receiving it, or perpetrating it. People in the States risk their lives in an effort to create a better future for themselves and the following generations, but we don’t have to do so separately. 

The sad experiences we share should be the backbone to a rebellion to collectively dismantle our current state. Where you find intolerance, you find pain, but where you find pain, you find those who are willing to help carry the burden. It’s a beautiful thing to see people fight for the rights of their own groups but there’s something magical about seeing people fighting for things that aren’t specific to the groups they’re a part of.