“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right” - Martin Luther King Jr.
On this day in Black History Month, we proudly honor Colin Kaepernick and his courageous position against injustice!
Discover more here: https://bit.ly/-Kaepernick
"Kamala D. Harris is the Vice President of the United States of America. She was elected Vice President after a lifetime of public service, having been elected District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and United States Senator.
As Vice President, Kamala Harris has worked in partnership with President Joe Biden to get America vaccinated, rebuild our economy, reduce child poverty, and pass an infrastructure law that will lift up communities that have been left behind. She has led the Administration’s efforts in rallying broad coalitions to protect the freedom to vote, expand workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain, and stand up for women’s rights — supporting women in our workforce, addressing the maternal health crisis, and defending reproductive rights. The Vice President has also played a key role in engaging world leaders and strengthening our nation’s alliances and partnerships. In everything she does, she remains focused on the people of our nation—and our collective future."
In honor of Black History Month, we proudly celebrate our nation's first African American and female Vice President!
Learn more about VP Harris and Second Gentleman, Douglas Emhoff: https://bit.ly/VicePresident-Harris
"Toni Morrison was a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Among her best-known novels are 'The Bluest Eye,' 'Song of Solomon,' 'Beloved' and 'A Mercy.'
Her novels are known for their epic themes, exquisite language and richly detailed African American characters who are central to their narratives... Morrison earned a plethora of book-world accolades and honorary degrees, also receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012."
In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate the life and many contributions of Toni Morrison!
Read more here: https://bit.ly/-ToniMorrison
Photo from The Weekly Challenger/ Jacqueline Hubbard
"Baseball legend Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's hallowed mark of 714 home runs and finished his career with numerous big league records."
Discover more here: https://bit.ly/-Hank-Aaron
On this day in Black History Month, we honor the life of Dr. Charles Drew, the Father of the Modern Blood Bank! Learn more about Dr. Charles Drew and his life-saving contributions to humanity: https://youtu.be/zx_ZCp8_ibs and https://youtu.be/vFddM7p2zH4.
"Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world... Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today..."
In addition to her expansive work in media, "Oprah has long believed that education is the door to freedom, offering a chance at a brighter future. Through her private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, she has awarded hundreds of grants to organizations that support the education and empowerment of women, children and families in the United States and around the world. Amongst her various philanthropic contributions, she has donated millions of dollars toward providing a better education for students who have merit but no means. She also created 'The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program,' which gives scholarships to students determined to use their education to give back to their communities in the United States and abroad."
In honor of Black History Month, we proudly celebrate the life and contributions of Oprah Winfrey!
Discover more here: https://bit.ly/-Oprah
Photo from Milwaukee Independent
From foster care to world renowned "Architect to the Stars," meet Paul R. Williams!
"I have decided to stick with Love.
Hate is too great a burden to bear."
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror by EJI.org
Learn more here: https://bit.ly/-The-Legacy-of-Racial-Terror
"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived,
but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." - Maya Angelou
Photo by EJI
"Our nation must fully address our history of racial terror and the legacy of racial inequality it has created... There is an urgent need to challenge the absence of recognition in the public space on the subject of lynching. Only when we concretize the experience through discourse, memorials, monuments, and other acts of reconciliation can we overcome the shadows cast by these grievous events."
"In all of the subject states, we observed that there is an astonishing absence of any effort to acknowledge, discuss, or address lynching. Many of the communities where lynchings took place have gone to great lengths to erect markers and monuments that memorialize the Civil War, the Confederacy, and historical events during which local power was violently reclaimed by white Southerners. These communities celebrate and honor the architects of racial subordination and political leaders known for their belief in white supremacy. There are very few monuments or memorials that address the history and legacy of lynching in particular or the struggle for racial equality more generally. Most communities do not actively or visibly recognize how their race relations were shaped by terror lynching."
https://bit.ly/The-Legacy-of-Racial-Terror
Photo from EJI.org
"Racial terror lynching was a tool used to enforce Jim Crow laws and racial segregation—a tactic for maintaining racial control by victimizing the entire African American community, not merely punishment of an alleged perpetrator for a crime. Our research confirms that many victims of terror lynchings were murdered without being accused of any crime; they were killed for minor social transgressions or for demanding basic rights and fair treatment." - EJI
"In America, there is a legacy of racial inequality shaped by the enslavement of millions of Black people. The era of slavery was followed by decades of terrorism and racial subordination most dramatically evidenced by lynching. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s challenged the legality of many of the most racist practices and structures that sustained racial subordination but the movement was not followed by a continued commitment to truth and reconciliation.
Consequently, this legacy of racial inequality has persisted, leaving us vulnerable to a range of problems that continue to reveal racial disparities and injustice. It is essential that we begin to discuss our history of racial injustice more soberly and to understand the implications of our past in addressing the challenges of the present." - EJI
https://bit.ly/The-Legacy-of-Racial-Terror
Photo from EJI.org
"The history of terror lynching complicates contemporary issues of race, punishment, crime, and justice. Mass incarceration, excessive penal punishment, disproportionate sentencing of racial minorities, and police abuse of people of color reveal problems in American society that were framed in the terror era. The narrative of racial difference that lynching dramatized continues to haunt us. Avoiding honest conversation about this history has undermined our ability to build a nation where racial justice can be achieved." - EJI
https://bit.ly/The-Legacy-of-Racial-Terror
Photo from PBS
Our world has so much potential for good, yet continued actions like these make me fear that the holocausts of our history can happen again.
Evil has determined its place in history, but it is my everlasting prayer that those of us with a soft heart to fulfill justice in this lifetime, will hold our positions firm on the side of what's merciful, what's compassionate, what's kind, for it is OUR fervent stand that shines hope into the world. Without Good people continuing our good fight, all would be lost.
"Lynching profoundly impacted race relations in this country and shaped the geographic, political, social, and economic conditions of African Americans in ways that are still evident today. Terror lynchings fueled the mass migration of millions of Black people from the South into urban ghettos in the North and West throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Lynching created a fearful environment where racial subordination and segregation was maintained with limited resistance for decades. Most critically, lynching reinforced a legacy of racial inequality that has never been adequately addressed in America. The administration of criminal justice in particular is tangled with the history of lynching in profound and important ways that continue to contaminate the integrity and fairness of the justice system." - Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror
Photo by EJI.org
...Anthony Crawford, Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Elijah McClain, George Floyd, Tyre Nichols... "Lynching... has shifted over time in America."
Lynchings "never ended. They evolved."
It's imperative and incumbent for every soul to never forget the dangers of bigotry and hatred, for when you forget, they reappear, they transform and perfect themselves, and they show up in new ways that you may not anticipate.
"It's a shocking and disturbing reality that lynchings were not isolated murders only carried out by men in white hoods in the middle of the night. Often they were public crimes, witnessed, even celebrated by thousands of people... It was a community crime. This wasn't done by the Klan, or people who had to wear a mask. This was done by teachers and clergy and law enforcement officers and people you had to deal with everyday..."
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