(Photo courtesy of Lucas Roque)
After the death of George Floyd, it was impossible to ignore the Black Lives Matter movement protests, but I wasn’t familiar with the movement itself. So I decided to get informed while at the same time learn more about my own history.
I put aside my sitcoms and video games and started binging docuseries like “They’ve Gotta Have Us” and “Who Killed Malcolm X” and movies about African American history. Watching these films gave me more insight into history that’s rarely covered in school. They opened my eyes and gave me a new perspective on the country as a whole.
Learning about my history encouraged me to study even more. Now I’m reading speeches from figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Angela Davis. This summer, I was able to regain that passion for learning and knowledge that I had lost. My family fully supports my endeavor in self-education.
I never thought that this pandemic would take me on a journey of self-discovery and inspire me to learn about the world from the comfort of my bedroom.