Omari Hardwick’s Wife To Her White Counterparts Amid Ahmaud Arbery News: Confront Racism Or You’re Part Of The Problem!

Omari Hardwick’s Wife To Her White Counterparts Amid Ahmaud Arbery News: Confront Racism Or You’re Part Of The Problem!

Jae Hardwick, actor Omari Hardwick’s wife took to Instagram to share her thoughts about how her white counterparts can show true solidarity in support of justice for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was gunned down February 23 while jogging in a small neighborhood just outside of Brunswick, Georgia. Two main suspects, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested and charged May 7 with murder and aggravated assault in connection to the unfortunate incident.

Jae Hardwick captioned the just over 3-minute black and white video: “To my white people who want to help” and began her brief talk by saying:

“Mind you, this is directed to my white followers, my white friends, my white family members. If you will feel better when you return home after doing your 2.23 miles, don’t do it. Don’t do it. You are not helping the problem. What you’re doing is you’re soothing your own soul. You are feeling as if you are part of something. As if you are supporting something. But what you can do to actually be part of the solution is, is not to soothe your soul but to allow it to become outraged. This young king was not killed because he went jogging. He was killed because he went jogging in America while he was black and was confronted by racists.”

She went on to explain that she believes there is an America for white people and then there is an America for those people who are not white:

“See there’s two different Americas y’all. Been saying it for a while. I’ve said it in my stories and by the way, I’ve said it in my posts and when I do, just so you guys know, I get a lot of sh*t in my DMs from racist people. But it’s never gonna stop me from saying it. There’s two different Americas: there’s one if you are white and there’s one if you are every other minority in America, especially if you are black or brown. If you are not willing as a white person to confront racism in your neighborhood, at your workplace, in your friend group, or in your own family, you are part of the problem, okay? Again, stop looking for ways to make yourself feel better and start looking for ways to make the situation better.”

She also says that white people need to use their voice to bring more attention to injustices against minorities:

“Confront racism. Use your voice. Here’s the other thing: I hate when I hear someone say ‘to be a voice to the voiceless.’ You are not a voice for the voiceless. Every minority in America has a voice. A voice that is being used strongly and loudly for centuries. The problem is they’ve had to use their voice strongly and loudly for centuries because of the amount and level of atrocities that’s been done to them that their voice now has become familiar to our government, to our corporations, to our police forces. Your voice is not familiar. Your face as a white person is not familiar. YOU take up the fight. YOU use your white voice, your white face, your white privilege to speak up to yell racism, to yell inequality from the f**king rooftop. That is your job. That is what you can do.”

She ended her powerful video by encouraging her white counterparts to be okay with being uncomfortable:

“Shelve the run. Shelve the bike ride. That’s gonna make you feel warm and fuzzy, okay? And do something. Do something that puts you in a position of being uncomfortable, okay? ‘Cause walking around as a minority in America I’m sure is pretty f**king uncomfortable on a lot of days. Worrying about your son’s safety, your husband, your cousin, your father’s, your neighbor’s safety because of their skin color and they live in America is uncomfortable. Take on some, some discomfort. Have the conversations. Confront the racists and racisms and inequalities that you see in your life. That’s where you start, white people. That’s what you do. You don’t go for a run to make yourself feel better.”

Do you agree with Jae Hardwick? Let us know in the comments!