"That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you.' Those are the first and last words I heard Renee Good say, seconds before she was brutally murdered on January 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. I came across the video as I watched my fiancée scroll through her social media feeds while sitting in our Brooklyn apartment."
"I was sickened by the ease with which we just witnessed violence, and I began questioning my decision to try to build a life in the U.S. with my soon-to-be wife. I was born in London to Black parents who migrated from Nigeria in 1990. It was a classic immigrant story: They were in search of a better life overseas."
"I was ecstatic to embark on this journey. I was raised on Black television, music, and film from the U.S., feeling a strong affinity to African-American culture from a young age. I was always watching 'My Wife and Kids' and 'That's So Raven,' and was obsessed with listening to Beyoncé, Usher, and gospel music."
The author, born in London to Nigerian immigrant parents, moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies in journalism and build a life with her American fiancée. Raised on American Black culture and media, she arrived with optimism about the American Dream. However, after encountering a viral video of Renee Good's murder by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, the author experiences a profound crisis of faith. Overwhelmed by the ease of accessing graphic violence on social media and confronted with the reality of systemic dangers facing Black individuals in America, she begins questioning whether the U.S. is a safe place to establish her future with her partner.
#immigration-and-belonging #police-violence-and-ice #black-identity-in-america #lgbtq-immigrant-experience #systemic-racism-and-safety
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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