Listen to Will's Words
Will Generett is a senior at Fox Chapel High School
At a time when the national conversation is focused, more than ever before, on our country’s history of racism and violence towards Black Americans, Will Generett is someone we all should listen to.
In several local publications, a piece written by Will, entitled “RUN,” puts into words what many young Black men experience every day in this country. It is genuine, gripping, and emotional.
One thing it isn’t is fiction. Written in the wake of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, the essay finds Will, a senior at Fox Chapel High School, connecting to Ahmaud’s story in a brutally personal way. Please, please take the time to read his piece in full:
This week, Will came to our O’Hara Township Council meeting (where I serve) to read “RUN.” I had read it before, but this time I got to listen. I got to see the emotion in the delivery. And (I hope) that I got to understand just a little bit better. Here is what I heard:
That Ahmaud Arbery’s story is every Black man’s story in this country.
That basic human and civil rights for Black men are drastically different and discriminatory compared to white Americans. Being denied the right to go for a run without fear of being killed is sadly not an experience exclusive to Ahmaud Arbery.
The “one more mile to go” in the jogger’s three-mile run isn’t just the distance of the run, but the distance we need to go as a country before the promise that all are “created equal” is realized.
That staying in our comfort zones is no longer acceptable. As White Americans, we have to – I have to – get out of our comfort zones, admit to our own racism and implicit biases, examine the role we play in maintaining racist systems, and educate ourselves about the history (the true history) of the 400 + years of horrific racism Black Americans have experienced.
Most simply, but perhaps most striking of all, were Will’s words about how honestly exhausting it is to be a Black American in our country.
I encourage everyone to donate to and support organizations in Pittsburgh that are already doing the work of elevating Black voices and dismantling the racist systems that allow for someone like Ahmaud Arbery to not only be murdered in cold blood, but which also allow his alleged murderers to roam free for more than two months. Just for starters, I would suggest:
Thank you, Will. My promise is that days, months, and years from now, I will relisten to your words, and the words of others who speak the truths about racism.