As we all know, our country is busting at the seams with protest for change after the murders of George Floyd and many, many other black men and women within our 50 states. America is currently hurting, but the truth is that the black community has been hurting for hundreds of years over this racial injustice. Although I am very aware that the murdering of innocent black people by the hands of white officers and civilians has been happening for centuries, George Floyd's death finally woke me up for the first time is 26 years. While I am ashamed that this has taken me most of my life to seriously acknowledge, I am now, more than ever, ready to devote myself to standing up for the equality of the black race in this country and to never be silent moving forward.
As a privileged white woman in this country I 100% understand my status, and it pains me to realize that there is this system of white supremacy in place that some of us white people hardly see or acknowledge. I grew up being taught that all races are equal and that I should treat others the way that I wanted to be treated. That has always been the "golden rule" in my life. As I've gotten older and have had more life experience I have noticed that there still are forms of racism within our communities and country. After feeling more informed than ever by this tiered system that our country has organized since the beginning of our nation's history, it disgusts me that this structure is still present. The scariest part, is that it's meant to be hidden and sneak into your life without realizing or understanding it.
This post has been weighing on me because I am afraid of saying the wrong thing or getting important information wrong. As a new blogger, I now clearly notice that my posts do not include information about the racism in this country. On a day-to-day basis, I do not run into the hardships of issues like racism, so in my mind I have never felt the need to write a post about focusing on these topics. Although I am not sure how to navigate this, I do understand that I have a lot of work ahead of me in order to educate myself on how to support our black community. I know that I will get things wrong at times, but I am ready to do my very best. I want my readers to know that while I may continue to write and share my typical lifestyle posts, please note that I am doing the work to be a supporter of getting justice for our black community. Now more than ever before, I truly understand how crucial this is for not only our world today but also for the future.
In order to push forward and support this movement, ALL people need to take part in educating themselves and use the thousands of resources out there. How can we help make change for once in this place that is supposed to be a welcoming home for all people? How can we stand up so that future generations can live in full equality? How can we be part of the solution?
These past couple of weeks have gotten me thinking even deeper about how I want to shape this blog and which direction I want it to go in. My mission is to create a safe and welcoming place for every single type of person who visits. I look forward to creating and projecting more content that focuses on this important movement not just now, but moving forward. Stay tuned, but most importantly, go out there and speak up!
BELOW ARE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE SOLUTION:
TEXT OR CALL
Text "FLOYD" to 55156
Text "JUSTICE" to 668366
Text "ENOUGH" to 55156
Call/send a message to your congressional representative
Get in contact with the district attorney (612)-348-5550 & Minneapolis mayor (612)-673-2100
DONATE
SIGN PETITIONS
Arrest the three other offices involved in the death of George Floyd on change.org
Raise the degree on change.org
EDUCATE
FILMS / TV SERIES
15th (Ava Duvernray) - Netflix
American Son (Kenny Leon) - Netflix
Clemency (Chinonye Cukwu) - Available to Rent
Dear White People (Justin Simien) - Netflix
Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) - Available to Rent
Queen & Slim (Melina Matsoukas) - Available to Rent
LA 92 (Daniel Lindsay) - Netflix
I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin) - Amazon
If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) - Hulu
PODCASTS
1619 (New York Times)
Code Switch (NPR)
Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
BOOKS
Their Eyes Were Watching God - By: Zora Neale Hurston
Heavy: An American Memoir - By: Kiese Laymon
White Fragility - By: Robin Diangelo
How We Fight White Supremacy - By: Akiba Soloman
How To Be An Antiracist - By: Ibram X. Kendi
Black Feminist Thought - By: Patricia Hill Collins
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower - By: Dr. Brittney Cooper
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