Brandon Gray

Are you woke? Are you exhausted? Are you both? This summer’s mass protests combating police brutality have us familiarizing ourselves with the constant names of slain persons of color. Each murder leaves a crippling effect on our hearts. I am tired of seeing Black women and men die by the force of a cop, and your wokeness alone won’t prevent this from happening again. “Being woke” is a term that’s getting tossed around, but the plight of being Black and brown is centuries old. You wear the badge of wokeness so proudly now because you’re current with the protests and can recite the names of the police who murdered another person of color, so I ask the question: Why do you care so much about being woke now, while for years you were unaffected by our struggle? As a Black chef who has worked most of his career in fine dining kitchens, being the only Black employee was normal or even expected up until a few years ago; this shift is a positive sign of a change that’s been gradual, but it’s only a glimpse into the marginalization that people who look like me suffer on a daily basis. I didn’t choose my skin color, but at a young age I embraced everything that comes along with having it. As a Black man the mental discipline we’re taught early is a survival tactic that our parents instill to help guide us through this world. My mother also taught me courage, morals and most importantly, love: Those virtues set the foundation of what drives me today. These are attributes that I hope one