Nellie on recognizing our privilege and the importance of BLM

Meet Nellie

Note: Interview has been shortened for brevity and clarity.

We sat down with Nellie Alcaraz, a social work and social justice advocate to talk the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Nellie: I had the privilege to speak in one of the rallies of Black Lives Matter and I also recited a poem during the anti-racist in consultation with City Council. Anti-Blackness has been going on for centuries and centuries. Now it all over social media and in the news about how Black people are being discriminated against. There is also anti-Black racism in communities of colour because the closer you are to whiteness, then the more privilege people have. That's the reason why even in the Philippines, there are so many people who use bleaching cream or lotion to make the skin white. Whiteness grants privilege. Black people don't have that privilege.

I support the Black Lives Matter movement. They propagate guiding principles for anti-colonialism and anti-racism. As a Filipino, I acknowledge that my skin is closer to white but I'm still a Person of Colour. It's about time for us to support the struggle of Black people because if Black people are valued then everyone will be valued because they are at the bottom of the privilege ladder. We need to acknowledge our privilege as People of Colour and support the struggle of Black people. They are truly the most oppressed community. I've seen it in Calgary when there was a Black person who was stopped by two police officers. Luckily, I was with a white ally, who approached the two police officers. I was crying when I was watching how these two white police officers were dealing with the Black person. The Black person had no infractions but was treated inhumanely. From that moment on, I realized this had never happened to me and probably would never happen but it's a fact that Black people experience every day. And it's time for us to support them because their struggle is also our struggle as People of Colour, we will also win. You can keep up with Nellie on Twitter @NELLY95511279