It’s with a heart full of both fear and love I write you this letter. Fear of the unknown, fear that the activism in the name of social justice at the University of Missouri will lose its way, fear that those in the middle will have their voices silenced and forced to a side, fear that in the heat of this benevolent cause there will be no space to show a bit of love.

Scenes on the internet and television try to share the moment with those who can’t be at the epicenter. Unfortunately, those images fail to show where the love in the situation lies. The love that my marginalized brothers and sisters feel for one another. The love my brothers and sisters show when they demonstrate their support by forming a human ring to maintain a safe space. The love that rests within the frustration of the brothers and sisters who genuinely want to understand but can’t quite grasp the many moving parts.

Instead the perception is that this is a place of animosity, anger, hurt and even hate. The question of whether or not perception is reality requires no answer because to perceive is to become aware of something you observe. I’ve observed our words on social media and actions on campus and all I see is a lack of love within all of us.

Brothers and sisters of color, where is the love in silencing the voices of those who don’t see our purpose? It is not enough to correct our siblings who say the wrong thing or ask the wrong questions. It is not enough to raise awareness of these patterns of oppression and try to push understanding on the masses. My brothers and sisters, we can’t forget the pain we feel when our physical safety is in question. We also cannot forget that that real change we need can only happen if it comes from a place of love, not pain. I’d assume that’s what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. meant when he said “love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend”. We’ve come too far to forget those words and in a time when the wheels of social equality has started turning again we cannot afford to have more enemies than friends.

Brothers and sisters who disagree with what you’ve seen, where is the love in closing yourself off simply because this isn’t how change is supposed to happen? When I stop listening to the voices calling for my attention I lose the ability to hear the underlying pain they feel in their experience. Simmering in my own objections leaves little space for other considerations to challenge my own thinking. Those challenges are vital to growth and that growth happens even if it doesn’t change my assumptions. But the only way to experience that growth is to allow space for mutual respect rooted in love. The love-rooted respect that allows the space for another human to share their experience without feeling ignored. What we think we inevitably become, so why not leave yourself open to growth?

Brothers and sisters who feel they are caught up in the middle, where is the love for your own voice? Plenty of our siblings are sharing their experience, their pain, their passion. But where is yours? If you think that your feelings don’t matter or your voice can’t be heard because you’re not squarely on either “side” but you agree those same patterns of oppression cannot continue, you’re not alone. As a black man I fear this very letter will forever cast me as if I’m against my “own.” Still I refuse to live in fear and I can’t relinquish that power to someone else. If I silence my own experience because someone else found the love within themselves to use their voice, I am then valuing their self love over my own. Loving ourselves is just as important as loving others.

To all my brothers and sisters I hope you can receive this knowing my sincerest desire to share love at a time when love cannot be forgotten. Right now, it seems that if there was ever a day for love it would be today, tomorrow, and so on. There is beauty in our collective struggle but we must remember it is a collective struggle.

So keep standing my brothers and sisters and keep loving. This isn’t about being on the right or wrong side of history, this isn’t about whether you’re on the front lines or watching from your laptop. In the end none of that will matter. What will matter is whether or not we acted out of love. When love is present there no longer exists a place for hate and injustice. So I hope we take care of this moment and that we do so with love in our hearts.

From _my_ heart,

Zac Sweets,
Mizzou Alum ‘15,
zds6x6@mail.missouri.edu