‘It’s overwhelming to articulate my feelings about being a Black man in this country’

I’ve been taking the last few days to gather my feelings about the events that are taking place here in Philadelphia and around the world. It’s challenging. The hatred, the anger, and the injustice is a lot to take in all at once.

Writing about this, I’m not sure if I can truly do it justice. I’m tired, very tired, but I am trying to be hopeful. I never thought that I would see the country so divided and then united at the same time. It’s a beautiful and complicated thing, I suppose.

I don’t expect my words to be substantial. I have no sage advice to give and I don’t expect what I have to say to sway a person’s opinion on the matter. I do want to add my voice, even if it’s brief, to this conversation. A conversation that has been written about numerous times and will continue to be.

I won’t mention much about the looting, other than it’s hurting our already struggling Black community. I think that’s what started to bother me the most. I’m tired of hearing explosions before I go to bed at night and I’m tired of hearing the sound of helicopters.

But when you’re fighting for equality and are a person of color, there will be casualties. Still, I wish there was another way. I’m not sure if I can get behind the image of so many buildings burning and the anguish of the owners.

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Dominique “Peak” Johnson is a North Philadelphia journalist. He is one of the founding editors of the North Philly Metropolis. Currently, Peak practices kickboxing freelances for Generocity.org and occasionally tweets about “The Walking Dead.” Click here to learn more about Peak.