Hopeful Motivation

The past few months have been a total nightmare for most Americans, and people around the world. However Black people have been in a nightmare for the last few centuries. The Black Lives Matter Movement, the civil uprising and protests around the world is not new to us. Maybe new on this level but not new. We have been fighting this fight since the beginning of time. However, the solidarity, the out-spoken approach, and ongoing movement beyond just a few days or a week is relatively new for this generation ... millennial‘s and younger. I have experienced more awkward and uncomfortable conversations with non-black friends, coworkers, and strangers over the past few weeks than ever before. You see, I have gone to protests, been speaking out about injustices and fighting the fight for equality. But these conversations are a first. To me, that’s a good sign. It’s a hopeful sign. A sign that people that don’t look like me are potentially ready to have real conversations and enact real change. Do I know for certain that effective and lasting changes are on the horizon, of course not. I’m sure Martin Luther King was hopeful, I’m sure Malcolm X was hopeful, I’m sure Frederick Douglass was hopeful, I’m sure Harriet Tubman was hopeful and I’m sure many others before us were hopeful. Many have asked me what they can do to best help the cause and I don’t have the full answers to that either. But what I do know is that if you do one thing that’s better than doing nothing. So whatever you can do, like Nike...just do it.

1. Vote.
2. Encourage others to vote.
3. Have awkward conversations w/ non-Black people.
4. Protest.
5. Sign petitions.
6. Donate.
7. Call and write local officials.
8. Post on social media.
9. Educate yourself.
10. Teach the next generation.

A few weeks ago I experienced my first visit to the newly established Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC and it was uplifting and rewarding to my soul. If you have the opportunity to visit one of these BLM plazas, streets, boulevards, parks, benches, murals, etc around the country please go and pray, meditate, talk to our ancestors and gather encouragement to continue the fight. We are not even at the halfway mark of a long road ahead. So let’s keep going and remember Black Lives Matter!