Black Lives Matter. Lives Matter.

The United Nations have asked me to say something about the current situation occurring in America.

I work for a U.S. Media company, ViacomCBS: I lived and worked in northern California for 9 years, including in Oakland, California. Many of my friends and co-workers were (and continue to be) African-American.

I am not un-biased.

But I would like to explain some aspects of this situation which have not been widely understood outside of the U.S. and are only too familiar to members of the Arts, Entertainment and Media communities.

This is not only about how people are treated by the authorities. 

This is about people living from paycheck to paycheck. 

This is about people living with the threat of COVID-19 without the proper resources to do so such as access to basic health care.

This is about lifetimes of not being able to access a living wage, regardless of what you do.

This is about watching people make decisions on your behalf who know nothing about your reality and do not care or have any desire to improve things for you.

This is about seeing people able to gain at your expense but being unable to do anything about that personally.

This is about U.S. citizens who love their country deeply and who want it to be what it says it is; one of the world's largest Democracies that fulfills their Constitution, enabling and respecting their  Constitutional and human rights.

Do not be distracted by the looting and rioting. U.S. Citizens are acting out of love for their Country and the deepest frustrations possible that it is not what it could be and says it is. They want it to be itself.

I hope that helps clarify what we are all seeing coming from the U.S.

Ellen 0:!

Ellen F. Walker