I had a Black Lives Matter post on my older website a few years ago, after that horrible incident when George Floyd was needlessly murdered by a white cop. I even made two paintings about how I felt our culture treats black people, with so little care for them as human beings in our society. My support for #BLM was discovered by a UCLA student who was writing her thesis, on how small businesses are showing their support for Black Lives. Hash tagging works! Who knew. She found my instagram profile through my use of hash tagging. I shared the article I wrote in early 2020, even though it wasn't currently posted. I just decided, I need to write a new post! Because things are different now, although I wouldn't say in all a positive direction.
Yes, all those white cops were fired, but has anything really changed in our corrupt system? I know this is going to take a long while, but considering this white female is upset about it, I can't even imagine how the black community is feeling. I found this nationwide poll, showing that The BLM movement is on the decline already, which I was kind of suspect of. I knew if even one person reads this, and makes you pause a moment to think about how things should, and need to change, then this is worth talking about, with as many loved ones as possible. The more we talk about what needs to change, the more likely it is to actually happen. Like me, I think a lot of our natural toxic patterns are those of avoidance, so any step is a step in the right direction. Being angry is a good thing, because this almost always brings about change, in some small way.
These are two pieces I spent awhile on, after George Floyd was murdered. I could not get that image out of my head, of so many people just watching him die, as he was asking for help, because he couldn't breath. It was around the time this happened, that I completely stopped watching the news all together, because I couldn't even stomach seeing Trumps ugly mug on the TV, never mind hear what garbage came out of his mouth. I cancelled cable completely, soon after this actually. When this event occurred however, I felt a very strong need to watch it, and make myself see what was really happening in our country. I have never had such a strong bodily reaction while I was watching this video. I don't think I breathed the entire time I was watching it, my tummy was doing flip flops, the head pain started, and my mind wouldn't stop spiraling. These are our FELLOW AMERICANS! We should be upset, we should want something to change, we should be making giant steps to prevent this from ever happening again.
I recently asked a friend I have made on social media the last few years, Dominique Grant. Dominique grew up in Queens, NY, but cannot wait to be back in the Motherland, Africa. She is of Jamaican descent, and fell in love with the similar culture of Accra, Ghana.
"It's difficult to put into words the way I feel each time I witness the atrocities done to Black bodies.
Even after 2 years since George Floyd's murder circulated on our screens, there are still police officers and vigilantes attacking the Black community with very little media coverage, and even less consequences.
Right now, the Governor of Virginia has set up a tip line to report schools teaching about racism. They really don't want to admit, that systemic racism is a part of American society.. But when did ignoring problems rather than facing and managing them, ever work out?
It's crazy because when I was a kid learning about MLK and Rosa Parks, I believed the worst of it was over but now that I'm an adult, I know better. The goal seems to be to erase history, distort the truth, and confuse our future leaders." ~Dominque Grant
I also remember learning about MLK and Rosa Parks in school, and remember feeling so proud of them and on how much they have done for our culture. Which I still believe is true, but it sadly needs to be repeated generation after generation, until these hateful thoughts become eradicated in our society. I grew up in a very white town of Reading, Massachusetts, so I always knew I was very sheltered because of that. My first 8 years I grew up in Medford, MA, which is much more diverse. I always felt like my growth was very stunted because of this bubble, and the second I was able to afford moving, I went right to my nearest diverse city that called to me, which is in Lowell, MA. I don't feel I will be here forever, but I do believe it has helped me see how much minorities are completely looked over, and a lot of anger boils inside of me when I think about it.
Dominique runs her own travel business here, and sells products from Africa. I myself cannot go without my Baobab oil for moisturizing, including in my monthly hair mask. Baobab oil comes from the Baobab tree, the largest succulent plant in the world. In a 12 year period recently, 9 out of 12 of the oldest Baobab trees have died, which is a major concern. They don't know if it is because of climate change, since all of these trees are over 2 thousand years old. I am actually hoping that purchasing this oil, will encourage more plantings of this wonderful plant. Africa has so many resources, that New England just cannot produce because of our cold winters. It's the most non-oil oil I have ever put on my skin, and never clogs my pours. I use it everywhere. I love when a product has multiple uses!
Please support our Black community, in any way you can. They really need our support, from the few of us that really care, and want to help make changes. Reach out to them, see if you can collaborate in some way, and see which ways they could use our support. Because they are our humankind brothers and sisters, and we ALL should treat them as our equals.
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