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An Open Letter to My Fellow Armenians About Black Lives

by | Jun 4, 2020 | Essay

Deprived of the rapt audience of regulars as a bartender, Kos tanyan has now turned to the written word. God help us all. Based in the Bay. @ghostanyan
Hyer jan, tzavneret tanem,
 
Look, I get it, it’s not easy speaking to your family about race. It is only very recently that we have been forced to examine the anti-blackness within our own people. And boy, is there a lot of it. And boy, is it uncomfortable.
 
Please, understand, I love being Armenian. I never shut up about it. This might also be because I grew up in Glendale but I digress. I love our culture, our long history, our music, our language. I am extremely proud of my roots. It is because of this, not in spite of, I know we can do better. That our response to the Black Lives Matter should not be anger but empathetic support. Because, we, like all oppressed people in history before, have had to fight for our right to simply exist without threat of persecution or execution. This is why it’s sobering to see just how cruel and thoughtless we can be about the suffering of others. We must do better within our own communities.
 
It’s a daunting task I know. Start small.
 
Start with your grandparents, your aunts, your cousins. Educate the younger ones, the ones who might not be aware the extent of their privilege. Fight back against the ones actively speaking of hatred, actively denying a human’s right to fight for a better life.
 
“Why me, you might ask. What can I do? I’m just one person. I’m not black? It’s
not my fight.”
 
This is not about it being your fight.
 

This is about you recognizing that you benefit from a racist system that has systematically dehumanized a people based on the color of their skin. This is about you attempting to balance out the scales. About you standing in solidarity. We must be advocates for black lives because our communities will not listen to anyone else. We have the foothold, we speak the language, we know our grandparents and our aunts and our uncles and as individuals, we have to show up for them, even if there are no black people around. ESPECIALLY if there are no black people around.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I’m new at using my voice. I used to be afraid to.It seems stupid now because my fear is not comparable, not remotely, to the fear that black Americans live with, day in and day out. So, yes, I understand, it might be scary, and you will get opposition from people you love, people you grew up with, people you thought you knew. You will be discouraged from getting too involved. I urge you, don’t let it stop you.
 
Already, things are changing. Some small, some far too late, some momentous. But change is happening and it’s not enough to just silently root for it. Your voice is a hammer. Smash through walls. Post videos, send links, donate, protest for the betterment of Black Lives and in turn, the betterment of humanity. We need to be on the same team my Armenian brothers and sisters. We need to recognize that Black Lives Matter and address the racism and privilege amongst ourselves.
 
Change, like charity, begins it at home. So I urge you, all Hyeastancis, Parskastancis, Beirutsis, French-Canadians, people from Fresno, every last one of our people, I urge you to fight with us.
 
Have that difficult conversation with your friends, with your families, with yourself. Read books about the civil rights movement and the prison industrial complex. Donate to organizations like ReclaimtheBlock, the ACLU, and hundreds of others. Research and recognize how lucky we are to only be hearing about racism instead of growing up with it. Instead of living with it. Instead of being killed because of it.
 
We, as Armenians, have long known oppression. We as Armenians have single-handedly seen how revolutions can change our lives. We have fought for our race and now it’s time to fight for another. Even if it’s a small battle at the kitchen table, even if it’s an uncomfortable text message that leads to you being blocked, all these small things become mountains. Remember this, silence is also a choice.
 
With love and duxov,
E. Kostanyan
E. Kostanyan
Deprived of the rapt audience of regulars as a bartender, Kos tanyan has now turned to the written word. God help us all. Based in the Bay. @ghostanyan