Black Lives Matter - our thoughts and messages of solidarity

PatternNation stands in solidarity with #Blacklivesmatter

A message from Costa Besta and Cydney Eva

As an interracial couple who creates art together our lived experience is one that only a few generations ago in America and South Africa would have been illegal. Black people fought for their rights in colonial South Africa and America and without their bravery we would not be married today. As we all know the fight is not over, the fight is now. We do not live in a just society and racism is still eroding the strives that have been made by black people, indigenous people and their allies. We often experience the difference race plays in the way we are treated when we go out together in Canada and South Africa. We live this double standard as Costa is constantly treated differently and with less respect than Cydney and we want to see an end to racism. We ask
you all to look deep inside and think about the stereotypes you hold for people of any race outside of your own. Why do we (as a collective society) judge others who we do not know and make assumptions about them based on race? Can we stop living from a place of guilt, fear and hatred and instead unlearn our prejudices
and live from a place of love, understanding and compassion? Individually we may not be able to stop the corrupt racist police forces and governments through our self-reflection, we may not be able to physically join the protests but we can all look deeply at ourselves and our communities and no-longer condone the
racism we see around us in our families, friends and communities. Thank you to all the protestors on the front lines risking their lives for justice.

A message from Costa Besta

When I was growing up, my elders used to tell me about what they'd encountered when they were around white people. I always ask myself why do white people hate us so much. "What are these Baboons doing here"?
"You black people are lazy." "Blacks are nothing but thieves". " You are not people, you are animals."

Till today, this racial beast is still at large and it has a lot of white privilege in it. When I was in primary school I had racist white teachers all over, they would tell us all in Afrikaans that we will never amount to nothing, thinking that we won't understand them.Racism is still alive and well. There are jobs that are allocated for white people only and not for black people. A lot of our parents and siblings are sitting at home with their qualifications (certificates, diplomas and masters) but they're not getting any jobs because they are reserved for whites people. As a black person out here in the job world, your position is questionable, if you're up there with other whites, they will quickly make it harder for you to work with them "on their level".Your job to them as a black person is to clean the toilets, scrub the floor, shut up and do as I say, raise their kids and at the end those kids that our grandparents or parents raise end up disrespecting them as they grow up because they were taught that way by their parents.

I was told by a white lady to go back to where I come from at a restaurant when I was serving them,it
didn't sit well with me so I answered her, "what are you talking about lady, this is where I come from, South Africa, Africa. This is where I'm from, I belong here. You are dumb for saying something that ignorant
cos you're the one that doesn't belong here." She called the manager on me and it went to the owner of the restaurant, now I'm explaining my part of the story to them and they're not taking it because the owner of the restaurant is white and to them I'm just a rude and ungrateful black employee.

Another work space that was white dominant that I worked at the head of staff didn't like me because i had dreadlocks and black, she always followed me around to make sure that I'm not stealing anything, I worked there for several months without getting an official position, new white boy comes to the job and they tell me to show him around and how things work, a month later he is my manager, a month later the same dude I was helping fire me.

We as blacks are the most hated race on this planet .There are a lot of racist experiences that I've come across.
It's been worse now that My wife is white, I get most people talking to her only and not even acknowledging my presence, I see all of you and sometimes I ask myself how do these people live with such hatred in their hearts, for what..? JUST BECAUSE WE'RE BLACK

WE SEE YOU, CHANGE THE WAY YOU ACT. OR ELSE IT WILL AFFECT THE FUTURE IN A BAD WAY. 

A message from Cydney Eva

I am a privileged white Canadian woman whose life has been shaped by black culture from across the diaspora. My path to allyship continues to be a learning experience everyday as I learn how to best support the black people in my life and black people on mass. I have been influenced and interested in black culture from a young age and have met, loved and grown close to so many amazing black and indigenous people of colour. It is an honour to work with and be a part of so many creative projects with black folks who have
collaborated with PatternNation. To the African American/ Canadian community standing up for their rights and protesting to change the colonial white-supremacist system and end police brutality and racism in North America PatternNation stands in solidarity. To the black and coloured South Africans still fighting for their rights and equality who continue to experience police brutality and racism on their own land in a post-apartheid society PatternNation stands in solidarity. To the white people in North America and South Africa it is not okay to indulge in black culture while segregating yourselves to all white or almost all white communities, there will be no change if we do not change. We need to do better, dissect our privilege and learned biases, educate ourselves and stand up alongside black people for a just future.