---
[ LOS ANGELES ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles)
# This is America: I Can’t Breathe
June 04 2020
Written by Diedra Greenaway.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
**VOICES**-August of 2019 marked 400 years since Africans were brought to this country on slave ships.
My ancestors were stolen from their country and brought to here and put into slavery and servitude. Stripped of their culture and ripped away from their families. Put to work, treated no better than animals, and given nothing, and yet, they survived. They survived cruelty being the rule. Beatings, rape, public executions, mutilation, fighting wars, forced to be subjects of unethical experiments and still turning the other cheek.
Some of you may think, “Slavery is the past and we need to get over it.” Please understand, if your ancestors were slave owners, you are still reaping the benefits of their inhumane actions. It’s called “societal privilege” and it exists in every aspect imaginable.
We have always been in survival mode. My ancestors survived slavery. Yet, we are still slaves to a system designed to separate and destroy us. The jail system, the justice system, the welfare system, disparities in health care and education. Our “leaders” continue to subject us to systemic inequality through structural racism, and now we are at the point of protesting and rioting.
**“Riots are the language of the unheard” -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.**
Looting is a crime and enough is enough. We don’t need to loot. We are better than our circumstances.
Ask yourself, how far have we come with peaceful protest? How many times do we keep turning the other cheek? What has to happen before racist police that commit public executions are brought to justice? **BLACK LIVES MATTER** but violence is not the way.
Politicians always say the things that we want to hear, and always fall very short on their promises when elected. Our vote and our dollars are powerful. Black voters need to turn out in force. Black America makes up a small portion of the U.S. population. However, our buying power is nearly $2 trillion. So, our **BLACK DOLLARS MATTER.**
We need to have serious dialogue about change in leadership because many of us feel that there is no justice, and it’s JUST US. . .until justice is served for:
**Ahmaud Arbery Remarley Graham**
**George Floyd Akai Gurley**
**Eric Garner Wendell Allen**
**Yvette Smith Tamir Rice**
**Darren Hunt Kendrec McDade**
**Melissa Williams Manuel Loggins, Jr**
**Michael Brown John Crawford**
**Jonathan Ferrell Timothy Russell**
**Trayvon Martin Stephon Watts**
**Quinten Thomas Rekia Boyd**
**Ezell Ford Gary Hatcher**
And a host of others. . .**THERE WILL BE NO PEACE.**
*(Diedra M. Greenaway, MS/MBA, is a long-time community activist who lives and works in Los Angeles.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.*
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/115 "Brian Goldsmith Vertical R. Col")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/114 "McKinney Campaign")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
First Name
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/113 "Rhonda Haymon campaign")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33648-heres-what-zionisms-got-to-do-with-it)
### [Here’s What Zionism’s Got To Do With It](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33648-heres-what-zionisms-got-to-do-with-it)
ICAN - The anonymous website “BHUSD Watch” recently published a long, detailed article about the current BHUSD board an…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33655-two-democrats-one-senate-seat-candidate-brian-goldsmith-on-why-his-approach-makes-sense-for-voters)
### [Two Democrats, One Senate Seat: Candidate Brian Goldsmith on Why His Approach Makes Sense for Voters](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33655-two-democrats-one-senate-seat-candidate-brian-goldsmith-on-why-his-approach-makes-sense-for-voters)
ELECTION 2026 - The race to succeed retiring State Senator Ben Allen (D-24) pits two Democrats with different political…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33649-high-ladwp-bills-how-politicians-decry-the-rate-machine-they-built)
### [High LADWP Bills: How Politicians Decry the Rate Machine They Built](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33649-high-ladwp-bills-how-politicians-decry-the-rate-machine-they-built)
CITY BLUES - Many of the employees at Canter’s Deli in the Fairfax district have worked there for 30 or 40 years. Owner…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33650-how-charter-amendment-ee-would-make-the-los-angeles-city-council-less-accountable-to-the-public)
### [How Charter Amendment EE Would Make The Los Angeles City Council Less Accountable To The Public](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33650-how-charter-amendment-ee-would-make-the-los-angeles-city-council-less-accountable-to-the-public)
LA CHARTER AMENDMENT - At a time in Los Angeles when public trust in local government is low, LA Charter Amendment EE h…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33642-charter-amendment-la-end-the-paid-board-end-the-excuses-make-public-works-work)
### [Charter Amendment LA: End the Paid Board. End the Excuses. Make Public Works Work](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33642-charter-amendment-la-end-the-paid-board-end-the-excuses-make-public-works-work)
NICK’S VIEW - Los Angeles voters finally have a chance to address a persistent city problem: the Department of Public W…
---
## [ LOS ANGELES ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33680-could-la100-triple-your-power-rates)### [Could LA100 Triple Your Power Rates?](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33680-could-la100-triple-your-power-rates)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33686-los-angeles-is-already-testing-the-limits-of-robotaxi-safety)### [Los Angeles Is Already Testing the Limits of Robotaxi Safety](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33686-los-angeles-is-already-testing-the-limits-of-robotaxi-safety)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33637-getting-housing-projects-through-los-angeles-permitting-and-land-use-approvals)### [Getting Housing Projects Through Los Angeles Permitting and Land-Use Approvals](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33637-getting-housing-projects-through-los-angeles-permitting-and-land-use-approvals)
### [JAY on LA 10-28-26](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33630-jay-on-la-10-28-26)
### [JAY ON LA for 10-26-26](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33629-jay-on-la-for-10-26-26)