Over the past few days, multiple social media broadcasts, pictures and posts have urged Jamaicans near and far to wear the colour black on February 6, 2016 to take a stand in ending violence against our women and children. Multiple influential Jamaican personalities have taken to social media and shown their support for this movement through sharing pictures of themselves wearing black or urging their supporters to wear black. These influential personalities include but aren’t limited to Chris Martin, Konshens, Shenseea, Yanique, Miss Kitty, Kaci Fennell-Shirley,  and Prince Pine.

However, despite the huge support the movement has received, a large amount of Jamaicans are of the belief that wearing black will achieve nothing in the grand scheme of things. “Rape and Murder won’t immediately stop just because I wear black”, is the consensus many have come to. This thought process however, is wholly counter-productive when it comes to solving the problem of violence against women and children.

Wearing black is just a start in the grand scheme of things to spark awareness on the issue. Yes we see cases in the news and on social media but many people still think these cases are isolated incidents with no common factor. They don’t believe women and children are being targeted. They don’t believe there is a problem with the social structure of this country, regarding how women are perceived and how children are raised. Many people simply do not understand that these problems have a root that needs to be attacked in order to fix the bigger picture. 

Many people don’t believe there is a problem. Many people think this just how Jamaica is. Many people do not want to disrupt the ingrained imbalance of this country because “it’s been this way since forever”.

So no, wearing black will not magically fix the problem, but it will help people realize that there is one through the conversations that will be sparked when people question, “why is everybody wearing black today?” We cannot fix a problem without identifying that there is one and understanding what it is.

Everyone has a role to play in fixing this problem, whether it be big or small. A big machine would surely fall apart without the tiny screws and bolts.