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A 12-year-old Black girl made a 'Black Lives Matter' swimsuit for a competition and refused to change when an official said she'd be disqualified -...

This Black History Month, the Community Solidarity Response Network of Toledo is putting an emphasis on local leaders making history now.

TOLEDO, Ohio This month marks a time of transformation for Toledo's Black Lives Matter movement.

It's Black History Month and the Community Solidarity Response Network of Toledo is putting an emphasis on local leaders making history now.

The organization meets every week to discuss what is happening within their movement. And with a new year comes new opportunities for the organization to fight against social injustice.

"We're in the month of Black History Month. And this is a month that's set aside so that we can begin the process of honoring each other," said Brother Washington Muhammad, a representative with CSRN.

It's a time when the group can look back on the strides Black people have made.

Muhammad and his team focus on educating and leading a discussion to keep the movement going each week.

"Knowing the achievements of Black people helps give us perspective for what we can achieve, for what we can do," CSRN representative Julian Mack said. "And frankly, the sky's the limit."

This month, they're highlighting Black History Month and making sure the people making a difference today don't go unrecognized.

"By honoring some of our heroes and sheroes that are still with us today. So we've reached out to some of our elders to ask them to come on our Facebook Live, our podcast and talk about their experience and their journey," said Muhammad.

Because they say history is being made now.

By doing things differently, they hope the takeaway is even bigger for those tuning in.

"New ideas. That's something that stagnates a lot of movements. 'cause they get stuck on the anger or they get stuck on, sometimes, even the mission," said Jodie Summers, the treasurer for CSRN.

But with better communication and ideas, CSRN plans to move forward, with its fight.

"The only reason why we're able to do the work today is because of the work of previous people. We have the enormous opportunity to make history right now," Mack said.

One of the things CSRN is working on right now is going back to having their meetings in person after about two years.

The group would also like to open them up to the public once they find a place that's safe for everyone.

In the meantime, you can tune into their Facebook Lives every Tuesday at 6 p.m. by visiting their page here.

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Black Lives Matter group dedicating Black History Month to local changemakers of the present - WTOL

As a kid growing up in a tough part of Sacramento, Maya Madsen had a complicated relationship with food. Complicated in that there was never enough of it, and the possibility of getting more was not on the table.

Today, the fancy term is, food insecure. Back in my day, it was just being hungry all the time, Madsen said during a phone interview from her home in Scripps Ranch.

When you are a hungry child in a classroom trying to focus, everything looks like food. The teacher looks like a burrito. The kids look like sandwiches. All I could think about was when I was going to eat and how good it was going to taste.

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Many decades later, Madsen is still thinking about food. But what used to be a source of pain and frustration is now a cause for pride and celebration.

Madsen is the founder of Mayas Cookies, a San Diego-based wholesale bakery whose gourmet vegan-cookie offerings Chocolate Chip Smores! Brown Sugar Butterscotch! White Chocolate Espresso! have customers thinking about when they are going to get their hands on the next one, and how good it is going to taste.

Seven years after the former personal trainer and spin-class instructor started selling her home-baked cookies at the Little Italy farmers market, Mayas Cookies has a thriving online business, a new retail storefront, and a high profile on the vegan-food scene.

Perhaps most importantly, Madsen has survived her blinding time in the zeitgeist spotlight and come out with a clearer vision of what she wants to accomplish and how she is going to do it.

In June of 2020, as the country was being rocked by the marches and protests that swept the nation after the killing of George Floyd by a White Minneapolis police officer, Mayas Cookies became part of a viral campaign to support Black-owned businesses. Orders poured in by the thousands, a wave of goodwill that threatened to drown Madsen and her small bakery, but ended up pushing her into new territory.

It wasnt easy, but it was life-changing.

It was exhilarating, exciting and scary. It was daunting and emotional. You have all these people looking at you to move the machine forward, said Madsen, who worked 15 hours a day, seven days a week for 90 days straight to keep up with customer demand.

I dont even have a college degree, but what I have are problem-solving skills and passion. I try to think of the positive, and that has made me able to get through many things in life. I lean on my faith. Thats huge for me. And that has really convinced me that anything is possible. You just have to persevere.

Since that fortune-shifting summer, Madsen has turned the lobby of her Grantville bakery into a small retail space, hired more employees, expanded her corporate-gift business, and forged partnerships with movers-and-shakers like former NBA champion John Salley, who joined the company in an advisory role earlier this month.

Madsen has also been able to give back to the community. She has mentored other small-business owners; worked with nonprofit organizations like Junior Achievement of San Diego County and DETOUR, a local mentoring program for girls of color; and participated in panels about the joys and challenges of being a Black female entrepreneur.

Most recently, the mother of three adult sons has poured her passion for baking and consciousness-raising into her new Black History Month Collection, which honors Black icons with special-edition cookies that use ingredients from Black-owned businesses.

There is The Superhero, which pays tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman with a Black Panther"-inspired dark-chocolate cookie studded with extra-dark chocolate chunks from the Black-owned, woman-owned Kanda Chocolates, whose products are grown, processed and packaged in Ghana.

There is also The First Lady, a cookie inspired by Michelle Obama and her mother, Marian Robinson. The lemon-spiked sugar cookie features white-chocolate chunks and marionberries soaked in red wine from a Black-owned vegan winery.

The collection is rounded out by The Uncle Nearest, a brown-sugar cookie that contains candied pecans that get a boozy jolt from Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which honors African American master distiller Nearest Green.

The cookies are meant to be savored, not analyzed. But in addition to an ingredient list that includes premium chocolates, organic flours and sugars, and a vegan buttery spread, the cookies in Madsens Black History Month Collection are made with purpose.

As Madsen has discovered during this exhilarating, daunting time, people are hungry for that, too.

Before Black Lives Matter was in the forefront of everyones mind, you would shop Black if you could. It was just a thing you did, the 52-year-old Madsen said.

I have a platform now, and its important within our community that we lift each other up and support each other. We have to be stronger, and when we have a platform, we have to use it.

Mayas Cookies are available online at mayascookies.com and at the storefront at 4760 Mission Gorge Place, Suite G, Grantville.

Excerpt from:

Column: Black Lives Matter put Maya's Cookies in the spotlight, and owner Maya Madsen is making it count - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Its not often that law enforcement leaders, county attorneys and Black Lives Matter activists all agree on police reform legislation.

But thats the case with S.B. 126, which the Utah Senate Judiciary Committee approved Wednesday.

It requires police to intervene when they see another officer engaging in misconduct, like using excessive force. It also requires them to report it.

Ken Wallentine, president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, said the bill is a step toward law enforcement officers truly being [their] brothers and sisters keepers.

It really is a way to improve our profession, to provide an avenue for law enforcement officers, to keep others from making mistakes and causing the harm that results from those mistakes, Wallentine said.

That sentiment was shared by Rae Duckworth, the head of Black Lives Matter Utah. She said this is the first step in building trust with communities.

This bill is going to encourage officers to get rid of those bad apples, and then hopefully we just continue to get justice from this point on, Duckworth said.

The legislation also prohibits retaliation against an officer who intervenes in and reports misconduct.

Continued here:

Black Lives Matter activist says a new bill will help police address 'bad apples' in their ranks - KUER 90.1

A man convicted of attempting to set fire to a high school during the Black Lives Matter riots inMinneapolisfollowing the death ofGeorge Floydhas been sentenced to five years probation.

Mohamed Hussein Abdi, 20, was handed the probation sentence in a U.S. District Court in St. Paul,Minnesota, Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit arson, according to court documents obtained by Fox News.

Abdi was also ordered to pay just over $34,000 in restitution to Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul.

Court documents state that the sentence was imposed pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.

The presiding judge, Reagan-appointed District Court Judge David S. Doty, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.

Abdi was arrested in June 2020, a month after he entered the high school through a broken glass door during the Floyd riot and could be seen on security footage pouring liquid from a white container onto the floor and then into a trashcan. Abdi then took a liquid-soaked garment and sent fire to the trash can before running away as flames and smoke began to spread.

It has been estimated that rioting across the nation following Floyds death destroyed over $1 billion worth of property.

More than1,500 businessesin the Minneapolis St. Paul area were damaged or destroyed during the riots totaling roughly $500 million in damages.

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Man who tried to burn Minnesota school during BLM riots gets probation - New York Post

An independent volunteer race official claimed the 12-year-old's suit went against USA Swimming's policy of no political language. The YMCA said that was inappropriate.

SUPERIOR, Wis.- The Duluth YMCA has banned an independent volunteer official from all future swim meets after that person nearly disqualified a young girl for wearing a swimsuit sporting the words Black Lives Matter at an event at Superior High School Sunday.

I was like, why do I have to take my suit off if like my life matter, other black peoples lives matters too? said the swimmer, 12-year-old Leidy Gallona.

According to Gallona and her mother Sarah Lyons, Leidy started competing in the meet, when a race official stopped her and said her Black Lives Matter swimsuit went against USA Swimmings policy of no political language, and she had to take it off.

Leidys mother said when she asked, the official claimed they had the authority to decide what fit the definition of political.

Leidy made the swimsuit the night before after hearing about the police shooting of 22-year-old Amir Locke, awakened and killed by Officer Mark Hanneman while a SWAT team was serving a no-knock warrant at his apartment in Minneapolis. Interim MPD Police Chief Amelia Huffman said the warrant did not name Locke.

If someones sleeping on their couch, of course, like theyre going to act bad because they didnt know and if you have a weapon with you of course theyre not going to like react bad, Gallona said.

Lyons asked her daughter what she wanted to do, and Leidy said she wanted to keep the swimsuit on.

The easy thing to do wouldve been to take the suit off and she chose not to do that, Lyons said. She chose to stand up for what she thinks is right. Its a proud mama moment for sure.

Black people that are getting killed, their lives matter because they were, their lives were taken from them. So I think its respectful to show that I matter, everyone thats black matters too, the young swimmer said.

So thats when Lyons called the head of the Duluth NAACP, who was there with other members in support in about 15 minutes.

Then, Sarah said YMCA officials also came by.

She said they were receptive and overturned the officials decision, allowing Leidy to swim with the BLM suit.

Like the only kid not swimming cant be the only black kid whos swimming in this meet thats not, we cant do it like that, the mother said.

They then removed that volunteer from the competition and banned them from any future YMCA events.

But Lyons said its clear something has to change. We cant deny that there is emotional damage already done and so just kind of keeping that in mind that we can make things right but that doesnt mean that harms not already done.

Meanwhile, the Y released a statement to the media shortly after Sundays incident:

The Duluth YMCA is working alongside the family of a swimmer following an unfortunate incident during our meet being held at Superior High School today.

An independent volunteer official inappropriately barred a student-athlete from taking part in the meet, due to their Black Lives Matter swimsuit, stating that it went against USA Swimmings policy of no political language.

In response to this ruling, Duluth YMCA staff swiftly disputed the claim directly with swimming officials and were in immediate contact with Duluth YMCA Leadership. The Duluth YMCA quickly overruled the decision, removed the official and the student is now participating in the meet.

The Duluth YMCA is saddened that the student, their family, and teammates had to endure this unacceptable behavior. The Duluth YMCA will continue our ongoing commitment to train all staff and volunteers on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Duluth Area Family YMCA is committed to being an anti-racist organization and stands with BIPOC communities throughout the Northland and throughout our country. We know that Black Lives Matter and we will continue to work to educate ourselves, to stand against inequality, and to strive to be active allies in the ongoing fight for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Duluth YMCA will work to hold independent officials accountable for further education to address systemic racism. The official is not associated with the Duluth YMCA and will be banned from any further Duluth YMCA hosted swim meets.

According to Lyons, she and the directors of the YMCA are set to meet Monday to discuss what happened, and the rules, further.

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Duluth YMCA Bans Official, Stands with Girl Wearing 'Black Lives Matter' Swimsuit - FOX 21 Online

David R. Nelson, 54, and Nicole C. Anderson, 43, were charged Jan. 12 with second-degree burglary after they illegally entered an unoccupied house in Walnut Creek with the intent to commit larceny, prosecutors said. Nelson was also charged with two counts of possessing methamphetamine for sale, according to a complaint filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Nelson was allegedly in possession of unspecified amounts of methamphetamine on Dec. 5 and Dec. 22, prosecutors said. Additional details about the alleged crimes were not immediately available.

Nelson and Anderson received national attention two years ago when they were recorded painting over a Black Lives Matter mural in front of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez on July 4, 2020. The video, which went viral, showed Anderson pouring black paint on the yellow letters that had been painted on the street during that summers reckoning over racial justice and police violence following the murder of George Floyd.

In the video, Nelson said that the narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism, its a lie, and that no one wants Black Lives Matter here. Both Nelson and Anderson appear to be white.

The temporary Black Lives Matter mural had been approved by the city of Martinez as a way of sending the message that African Americans and other people of color are equal members of our community, Martinez Mayor Rob Schroder said at the time.

Days after they painted over the mural, Nelson and Anderson were charged with violating another persons civil rights, vandalism and possession of tools to commit vandalism.

Nelson and Anderson could not immediately be reached for comment. They are scheduled to be arraigned on the burglary and drug charges Monday morning.

Andy Picon is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon

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Duo caught on video painting over Black Lives Matter mural in Martinez are now charged with burglary in new case - San Francisco Chronicle

In January, Black lawmakers in Mississippi withheld their vote in the Senates attempt to pass a bill banning critical race theory. Lord, I cant believe people are still on this!

Make this make sense for me: Kids are too young to learn critical race theory and their role in dismantling systems of white supremacy in a country that preaches equality. Yet, theyre not too young to internalize privilege, stereotypes and hate for Black people?

Thats actually a rhetorical questionno one can make it make sense because it doesnt! Its resistance to whats become a politically charged framework being used as a justification for the continued erasure of Blackness and whitewashing of American history in public education.

See, I knew this Black lives matter sentiment wasnt going to last too longI called it when everybody jumped on the bandwagon after George Floyd was lynched in public. And since then, weve seen more Black lives stolen in white rage.

Truth be told, our lives only matter when it comes to sustaining structures of capitalism and white supremacy. They matter when America wants us to stop burning shit down in protest of racism and oppression. They matter when elected officials need our vote. And they matter big time when yall need our kids in these raggedy-ass schools.

This rolling ban and criticism of teaching critical race theory has become a grander pile of shit in the existing cesspool of policies and practices that are anti-diversity, culture and truth. Bottom line, theyve politicized and polarized critical race theory to keep public education the sameoppressive, biased and basic. And while we do have lawmakers trying to protect our rights and represent our history, theyre outnumbered by the ones that want to make America great again

Meanwhile, our kids will continue to sit in schools where theres no accurate representation of their history or identity, no teachers that look like them, and in company with other students whothrough their parents, media or socialized normsthink its O.K. to judge, look down on or mistreat people whoappear to be different from them.

The system will continue to teach our kids that slave owners were upstanding gentlemen. As if they were patriots that saved uncivilized Africans by bringing them to America and giving them jobs, our history lessons often reinforce white savior-ship and privilege.

Black people, these lawmakers are counting on us to just take their word for it and trust that theyre acting in all of our interest. They want us to believe our lives matter in the long run, but I hope we know that their racism and privilege continue to manifest in policies and practices. Their actions say otherwise.

I hope we know that they use scary language like indoctrination of youth to befuddle the masses in their crusade to curb truth and representation in education.

I hope our kids are smart enough to question and challenge what theyre being taught. Because if everythings all good in the hood, equality is real, and race doesnt matter, then whyd we need a Civil Rights movement in the 60s and a Black Lives Matter movement now?

I hope were aware of the Karens who call themselves parent advocacy groups but are really modern day women of the Klan. Manyhave harassed and threatened the lives of Black school administrators for attempting to diversify curriculum and leadership in school districts.

Finally, I hope well one day remove our kids from this system that hates who they are, who they came from and what they could be. Their self-actualization can be realized and will be embraced in schools built by us, for ustrue Freedom Schools.

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If Black lives matter, stop resisting the teaching of our history in schools - The Black Wall Street Times

By Giselle Rhoden and Kaanita Iyer, CNN

In 2012, Nupol Kiazolu entered Stone Mountain Middle School with a pack of Skittles, a bottle of iced tea and a gray hoodie that read: Do I Look Suspicious?

The 12-year-old was threatened with suspension and expulsion from the school in Stone Mountain, Georgia. When she was sent to her principals office and was asked why she wore the hoodie, Kiazolu said she cited Tinker v. Des Moines, establishing her right to peacefully protest in school.

Kiazolu had organized her first protest within days after the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old who was shot and killed while walking home from the convenience store wearing a gray hoodie on February 26, 2012.

At that time, frankly, I didnt even know I was protesting. I thought I was doing whats right, Kiazolu tells CNN nearly a decade later. I was just doing what I would have wanted someone to do for me if that happened to me, god forbid, or someone that I loved.

Kiazolu is part of a generation of young people whose lives were forever changed by Martins death.

Today marks what would have been his 27th birthday, and his life and death continue to fuel activists pledge to get justice for Black lives.

Kiazolu, now 21, recognized the substantial impact Martin had on her life at a young age.

He was a young Black person as well, so I saw myself in him. I saw my brothers. I have five little brothers. I saw every last one of them in Trayvon, and it moved me into action, the Hampton University student and former president of Black Lives Matter Greater New York told CNN earlier this week.

In the 10 years since Martin was killed, the Black Lives Matter movement has brought attention to racism and injustice in America. What started with a hashtag that went viral in the wake of 17-year-olds fatal shooting has revolutionized how the nation tackles conversations about discrimination and racial bias.

It helped me find my voice, Kiazolu said. I think as a young Black person, often times you hear youre too young or you need to wait and youre not old enough to speak about things that affect our communityit impacts us too and were going to be here in the long run.

In the summer of 2020, young people like Kiazolu were leading members of movements across the US and abroad. After the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other unarmed black Americans, young activists established a community connection advocating for change. The Black Lives Matter movements resurgence raised awareness of police brutality in the US, inspired legislation at federal and state levels and initiated confederate monument removals.

Kiazolu notes, The most important part of the progress we made as a collective would be the unity within the people.

To honor Martins life, the Martin family will host their annual Trayvon Martin Peace Walk and Peace Talk this Saturday in Miami. The walk began nearly a decade ago to bring the Miami area where Martins family is from together. Organizers plan to have motivational speakers and local band performances to mark the 10-year anniversary of his death.

Kiazolu encourages others to honor Martins life rather than dwell on his death.

Trayvon Martin was a gift to this world and his life and legacy has changed me and the lives of so many others, she said.

In the years since his death, Martins parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, have become social justice advocates. His mother has run for political office, and his father coaches a local football league in his honor.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated Nupol Kiazolus affiliation with Black Lives Matter Greater New York. She is a former president.

The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

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How Trayvon Martin's life and death inspired a generation to fight for justice - kuna noticias y kuna radio

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

It was the Womens March on January 21, 2017, that opened my eyes to the racist underbelly of the feminist movement. I was so eager to be a part of what was happening that I partnered with a friend of mine to organize a busload of people to leave from Manhattans Lower East Side for our nations capital at 4 a.m that day.

I remember feeling buzzy and awe-filled while I was there. I took in the droves of women, the impassioned and witty signs and the stories being shared between cross-country cohorts about where they came from and what about the new administration made them most enraged. It was my first time as a part of a major demonstration, and I was deeply moved by the opportunity to be a part of something so full of fervor and heart.

Admittedly, it didnt dawn on me right away. It wasnt until weeks after the march after I was called in by a group of Black peers inviting me to question the ways white feminism gave space for my Blackness that I took a pause to really think it through. At the march, there was an abundance of pink pussy hats but a disturbing lack of Black people among the millions chanting.It was alarming to consider, especially since the country remained in the midst of racial unrest.

Audre Lorde once said, I am a Black Feminist. I mean I recognize that my power as well as my primary oppressions come as a result of my blackness as well as my womaness, and therefore my struggles on both of these fronts are inseparable. Years after she spoke these words, I felt the same tense inseparability of my doubly oppressed identity. All the while, I had been both a student and participant of white feminism, to the point where I had to have my own Great Unlearn in order to recalibrate the truths behind the movement I felt so strongly for.

As I watched the hashtags for Korryn Gaines, Atatiana Jefferson, and Decynthia Clements make their way across social media, my anger and grief gave me an even sharper view of white feminists ignorant approach to racial injustice. I began to unravel my whitewashed understanding of historical events and characters whom I was taught to praise. The heralded Susan B. Anthony was quoted saying, If intelligence, justice, and morality are to have precedence in the government, let the question of the woman be brought up first and that of the negro last. A suffragette leader insisting that her loyalty to whiteness held more firm than her loyalty to womanhood left my body feeling uneasy. Reading that Black suffragist and journalist Ida B. Wells had been relegated to the back of the 1913 suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. over a century earlier than the 2017 Womens March further illuminated how distorted my understanding of the movement was.

I took to social media to explore this intersection of race and womanhood with my friends and followers. At the time, it was a community of around 4,000 people with whom I shared what I was learning, my insights, and my recommendations for how they could learn too.

In the summer of 2018 I made a post regarding the vicious murder of Nia Wilson and insisted that my followers consider whether or not their most celebrated white feminist leaders found her story worth grieving, worth mentioning, worth fighting for. My followers began to tag the individuals, brands, and organizations that claimed feminism and solidarity but bypassed the opportunity to center the tragic story and demand for justice for Nia Wilson.

My comments section quickly turned into hostile ground. One woman who was tagged became particularly livid. She claimed she was bullied, offered a laundry list of the good things shes done for Black people, and eventually began to dox anyone who challenged her even going so far as calling the employers of her critics.

That post and its tension around the unpacking of white feminism was just the beginning ofwhat became an ongoing battle as I continued my own learning out loud. Though the community engagement was powerful and I became a resource for others in their learning journey, I was also a sounding board for white women working through their ignorance.

Over time I was called racist and divisive. I was told that I deserved to be sexually assaulted, and one white woman described me as the worst thing to ever happen to the feminist movement. Each time I shared these conversations, Id get dozens of emails asking me why I would even spend time and energy talking to these people.

My honest answer: These were the greatest tools Id found for community learning. My strategy was to engage them, then dissect their comments in the style of grade-school grammar lessons; it was Anti-racism 101. People with varying perspectives got value from witnessing the exchange. Liberal white people were garnering tools for their own anti-racism efforts. They found language to use next time similar issues came up with their even more white and racist friends, family, and co-workers. Others saw themselves in the person with whom I was engaging. My greatest joy was when Black people reached out to me saying they felt affirmed. The posts offered them a bit ofI see you in a world where our Black experiences and subsequent frustrations are often denied or dismissed.

In fact, we as Black people arent gaslighted just at our jobs or in our personal circles but by the government and other institutions we engage with every day. We are silenced by local police forces and made to feel like our response to violent state-sanctioned racism is the issue. We are told the most natural parts of ourselves our hair, the shapes of our bodies are inappropriate and unprofessional.This country has never seen racism as the problem itself. It was not that Trayvon was murdered, not that Sandra was murdered, not that George was murdered the problem was our marching in the streets, our voicing our anger, our demanding justice. I spent my nights watching news coverage of violence toward protesters, all while spending my mornings fielding racist rants in my inbox. I was anxious and exhausted the issues devoured me.

At the same time, I, along with many of my peers, began to get major exposure as liberal white America haphazardly grasped at anything that might help them distance themselves from the R word. All of a sudden the New York Times best-seller lists were brimming with texts like So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. Black educators were booked solid for workshops and panels. Black creators, artists, and entrepreneurs were quickly learning how to manage the unexpected load of business and opportunity while still mourning all the vicious things that brought us to that moment.

It was the summer of 2020. The nation grappled with surviving the onset of a pandemic, and the murder of George Floyd sent us into a major racial uprising against police brutality. The combination of hyperconnectivity online due to coronavirus lockdowns and the heated tension between the public and the police force gave way to a national conversation around race that I was particularly plugged into on social media. The several years of anti-racism work Id been doing via Instagram became a widely suggested space to learn for those who were just opening their eyes to Americas issues with race.

Summer 2020 soon rolled into the winter of 2021, and it wasnt long before the roar of intersectionality reverted to its understated hum. Many in the Black community are still dusting themselves off from that storm. The white imperative to not be racist left little room for our country to make thoughtful and intentional movement away from the deeply rooted racist systems that still endure. The flurry of that summer certainly took its toll on me. I struggled to navigate the opportunity to use my voice in service of community while holding myself together even as I unravelled with each new mournful hashtag or ballistic Karen footage I saw.

Ive had to take my well-being into consideration. Having poured so much into others, I now have to pour into myself. I have no tangible measurement for how much progress America has made in its anti-racism journey over the last decade. Often it feels like we take one step forward, then three steps back. Since my own awakening and entry into this public work in 2018, its been a slow and heartbreaking process. Its also been a labor of deep love, passion, and community.The Loveland Foundation, an organization I founded in 2018, has offered a path to healing for thousands of Black women and girls all over the country through free therapy.In my hometown I opened Elizabeths, a bookshop and writing center that highlights the powerful yet marginalized voices I continue to honor and learn from.

To preserve my nervous system and prioritize sustainability in this struggle, I have pivoted to doing this work with more intention by cultivating Black joy as opposed to an insistence on white understanding.

Martin Luther King reminds us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. I believe this. The work continues.

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How White Feminism Failed in the Age of Trayvon Martin - The Cut