The Los Angeles Sparks icon stressed that the U.S. has an abusive relationship with black people
Basketball legend Lisa Leslie penned a powerful op-ed condemning America’s expectation that black people keep the ‘family secret’ on the systematic injustices they’ve enacted for generations.
The Los Angeles Sparks icon stressed that the U.S. has an abusive relationship with black people, who are expected to show their love and ‘pledge their allegiance’ to the country while ‘destroying our very existence.’
The op-ed comes as Americans have taken to cities across the country to protest police brutality and systemic racism following the senseless killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Countless videos show peaceful demonstrations getting broken up by militarized police as protest agitators look to sow chaos, looting stores.
‘You want us to love you when serving in uniform, but when we are out of uniform, you throw us aside as if we never served and protected you,’ she said in the piece, shared with The Player’s Tribune.
The op-ed comes as Americans have taken to cities across the country to protest police brutality and systemic racism
Protests erupted across the the United States and globe following shocking video showing the killing of George Floyd in May
‘You want us to love you when we protect your fancy cities, but you designed them to keep us out.
‘You want us to love you on the grand stage of the Olympics, but you give us no peace or justice at home.’
The 47-year-old mother-of-two stressed that America wanted black folks to ‘stay silent and keep’ the country’s treatment of them as ‘a family secret.’
‘Well, now everything has been exposed in broad daylight for the whole world to see,’ Leslie declared.
‘Your oppression, your systemic racism, your lack of justice continue to suffocate black America, and “We Can’t Breathe!” Black people have had enough of you destroying our very existence.’
Leslie asserted that black Americans are happy to shed the system and ‘step into the light on behalf of our ancestors, our grandparents, for ourselves and most importantly for our children!’
Leslie asserted that black Americans are happy to shed the system and ‘step into the light on behalf of our ancestors, our grandparents, for ourselves and most importantly for our children!’
‘Black people have had enough of you destroying our very existence,’ the Olympic athlete said before asserting that Black Lives Matter
‘Black people have had enough of you destroying our very existence,’ the Olympic athlete said before asserting that Black Lives Matter.
Leslie instructed other Americans to jump into action if they recognize the systemic oppression.
‘Don’t sit silently at your tables just because the whip is not on your back,’ she said. ‘An injustice to one race is an injustice to all races. We are ALL Americans.’
The basketball player continued: ‘Since the pandemic, every person in the world knows the importance of being able to breathe.
‘Now you see our brother, George Floyd, murdered, struggling for air with a knee on his neck until his last breath, and it compels me to say this: That’s the way it feels to be Black in America.
‘We can’t breathe like everyone else because of the inequality, racism and obstacles that America has purposefully placed to impede the ascent of its black citizens. You have smothered us with your hate and apathy to the point where we are protesting in the streets during a global pandemic. We would rather die on our feet, fighting for justice, than lie down waiting for you to freely give it.
When her own children asked her about Floyd’s killing – which they had seen on the news – Leslie shared that all she could say was: ‘This is what you call racism. This is what you call murder. That is what you call injustice’
We just can’t do it anymore! We are tired! Enough is enough!’
Leslie said that black people were prone to having ‘uncomfortable conversations’ with their children.
When her own children asked her about Floyd’s killing – which they had seen on the news – Leslie shared that all she could say was: ‘This is what you call racism. This is what you call murder. That is what you call injustice.’
She shared her husband, Michael Lockwood, turned to her son and stressed that he had to know his rights.
‘We started having these conversations with my son when he was seven,’ Leslie said. ‘He’s 10 now. The fact that we have to introduce our children to this reality at such an early age is bad enough, and unfortunately this wasn’t the first time.
‘Ever since 45 (as I call him) has been in office, we’ve had to have these difficult conversations regularly.
‘That’s really what breaks my heart the most: the children. I would love to see how the rest of America explains what’s happening around our country.’
‘We started having these conversations with my son when he was seven,’ Leslie said. ‘He’s 10 now. The fact that we have to introduce our children to this reality at such an early age is bad enough, and unfortunately this wasn’t the first time’