But every time they wrote the message, they woke up the next morning to find that the word Black, and only that word, had been deleted.
“I just wanted to teach my daughter that Black life matters, Black culture matters, Black communities matter, and that we are the movement for Black life,” Sharick, who is Black, told CNN. “I was shocked that anyone could do this on purpose. It caused a lot of pain, it made me extremely overwhelmed.”
After three days of what she called “overwhelming frustration,” Sharick wrote the message in direct view from her security camera.
That was when she saw a man she says she has never met and only knows if Jim, water goes over the message. In a video that Sharick recorded on her phone after she ran out to confront him, the man tells her that he will continue to remove the word “as long as she continues to do so.”
He added that he deleted the “Black” from Black Lives Matter, because at the beginning of the movement he felt “it had good intentions”, but now the sentence is “hijacked”.
CNN could not reach Jim for comment because he did not release his last name.
A ‘blatant display of racism’
Sharick moved nearby 27 years ago. She said this was the first time she had ever faced “such a blatant display of racism.”
“He had so much time and energy to take time out of his day, every day, to bring water and come to my house and erase ‘Black’ from ‘Black Lives Matter,'” she added. “It hurts. It did a lot. As a Black community, we are heartbroken by everything that is done to us every day. We just want change.”
After sharing the video on Instagram and Facebook on July 30, word started spreading. The other day, Sharick said dozens of people from inside and outside the neighborhood appeared in front of Sharick’s house with chalk to draw supporting messages across the entire sidewalk on her side of the street and even in front of her own homes.
One of these neighbors is Ilana Israel Samuels, who told CNN that she refused to remain silent after finding out that someone in her neighborhood had been discriminated against.
“People need to support their Black neighbors. All lives can not be resolved until Black lives important. At the moment, black lives are being compromised, murdered by police, and they are constantly living in fear,” Samuels said.
After neighbors left the sidewalk covered in positive messages encouraging love, hope and kindness, such as support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Sharick and her daughter went on to write the message every day.
Since the exit of support, the man has not tried to delete the message again.
“I am deeply grateful and blessed for the special, unique, wonderful people in my life who supported, uplifted and comforted me,” Sharick said, “My family and I are grateful for the help and support we have. received from the community. ”
While words may be washed away and chalk may disappear, the message of this community will stand forever.
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