Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter.
The fact that we are still having to fight for basic human rights for our friends, neighbors, and people we’ve yet to meet in the Black community is sickening.
For the love of God, it is 2020. Speaking of God, do white Christians need to be reminded that Jesus was black or brown, but definitely not white?
I will never pretend to know the struggles of the Black community. And I will not burden my friends, neighbors, or colleagues of the Black community with my ignorance of their history.
I will read books and articles, listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, and when I still need answers I will google that shit, because we have the internet.
I will be here to listen, to learn, to change and grow. I will fuck up, and when I do, I will apologize, and change again.
I am here to be a friend, a supporter, to show God’s love and grace. I will encourage my white friends do better, I will have difficult conversations. I will use my white privilege to be a voice of support for the Black community.
Because BLACK LIVES MATTER.
I am not called to protest. It’s not my lane. And when you are fighting for a cause I believe in finding your lane(s) and doing what you do well. When you get outside your lane, burnout will come quickly.
My lanes are food, story telling, researching, shopping, and making meaningful connections with people. I want to know people deeply, because that’s how I love, deeply.
So for me staying in my lane means donating money to organizations doing work on the ground, becasue Christopher and I both still have jobs and we can, it means reading and researching so I know more about Black history, it means being here and checking on my friends in the Black community, it means buying things I need/want from a Black-owned business. I know this is not just a moment, it’s a movement, so this is were we are starting.
Christopher and I have donated to:
Christopher and I have purchased from the following Black-owned businesses in the last couple of weeks:
Soap from Naked Bar Soap Co. in Orlando
Cupcakes from B Cupcakes in Apopka via UberEats
Throw Blanket from Johanna Howard Home
We also love Mad Crab Seafood & Wings in Eatonville, but haven’t been since before the covid-19 situation.
Lemonhearted has an amazing list on her website of Orlando Black-owned businesses. I recommend checking it out.
If you are white, I hope you will join me in this fight to bring change in our society that has demeaned and oppressed Black, Indigenous, and People of Color for generations.
If you are part of the BIPOC community, Christopher and I stand with you, fight with and for you, love you, and believe without a doubt that your life matters.
If you need an entertaining way to understand why this movement is important, Chris Rock and Marlon Wayans explain it here:
And please, fucking VOTE! Not registered, do it here: Vote.org
