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Story time. I was asked to do an interview during the height of the quarantine. This was before we went into the phases of opening the state again and before the protest of masks and the BLM protests.
I had the honor of being part of a panel discussion on change
Why say Black Lives Matter and not All Lives Matter? How do white friends help, do we say I am your ally in all of this? We will ask the uncomfortable questions to ignite the change Over the past 2 weeks I have received a number of calls, visits, messages, and texts checking in on me here is a bit of advice
As many of you are learning about the blind eye and silence moments that you had during the time our lives intertwined. Realize I don't want to relive them, I don't want to be considered a victim of them. I want you to look at me today and realize that I am dope and I chose to move forward without giving in to the stupidity, arrogance, narcissism, and pridefulness of others. I went to support the youth who wanted to do a protest in Ambridge. I did not realize what seeing signs saying reading black lives matters and strangers of all color and ages standing together to call out racism was going to cause an emotional reaction from me.
I have so many life experiences from having dark skin that I at times I am numb and have to sit back and take care of my mental health.
Do a social experiment for yourself, If you want to know how it kinda feels to have brown skin. Put on a red baseball cap that says make America great again and do not say anything. Go outside your home and around in places of work, community, and go to places that have people who do not know you personally. If you want your group to want to include more diversity, make sure it is healthy enough to attract the right person to want to apply, to want to volunteer, or to want to move into your area.
I AM NOT PERFECT -- I have and will mess up again. People who appreciate what I can do take time to speak life into me. They make an effort to help me continue to move forward because they see what I have done and what I am capable of doing. Those who do not really care will be upset because I did not do what THEY thought I should have done. To do the right thing at the right time always is what I hope to be able to do.
Look around at the people you are with most of the time. Are you surrounding yourself with people that want to see you succeed? What kind of energy are these people around you feeding you?
New year means better you. It starts by being intentional with your movements.
How many times do you start and quit. Keep bad habits in 2019. COMMENT below a bad habit that won't make it to your 2020. In 2013, When I first came up with creating a hyperlocal website focused on the communities that my local school district served, I thought for sure it would be welcome with open arms from everyone.
I endured racism, sexism, ageism, and probably a few other isms that I don't know the definition of. I thought to myself what's wrong, I came with quality content and a team of skilled people. 2019 my website and social media pages are still going strong with engagements over 75,000. |
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