Creating Safe Black Spaces: 9 Virtual Communities Where Black People Can Connect

By: Kwana Adams

I am my best self when other black people surround me. I’m just more comfortable when the room is full of us. With Covid and all its restrictions, it hasn’t been safe to gather in groups. Before all of the limits, my favorite places to be were black hair salons and around the kitchen table at my aunty’s houses. The latter feels like family, and the former is family. Both feel like home.

Hair is important to the black community. It’s a cultural thing that ascends invisible lines. Am I the only one who remembers sitting between my mom’s legs, the cup of water with the brush in it next to me, wincing as she braided my hair, or pampering myself with a salon visit to get my hair blown out? I just know I’m not the only one who misses being packed into grandma or aunty’s house, gossiping and laughing in the kitchen, or listening to the tv being yelled at by our sports fan uncles and cousins. These are the communities that covid has made me miss being a part of. 

Although I haven’t physically surrounded myself with blackness lately, I’ve found a way to still feel comfortable and secure in specific communities. Social media has made it easy to connect with people all over the world and create virtual communities. In my teen years, I was a huge ‘fangirl.’ I joined Twitter and immersed myself in my favorite celebrities’ lives. My top favorite was Justin Bieber. I spent hours on the internet listening to his music, reading his tweets, and trying in vain to get him to notice me. I had never experienced going to one of his concerts and meeting other fans, so I looked for them online.

It was hard to find communities where I fit in as a black fan girl. Most people think of white girls when they think of fans of Justin Bieber, so when I found a community of black Justin Bieber fans, I immediately immersed myself in it. This was my first virtual black community. This was a place I could feel safe as a black fangirl in a world that liked to pretend we didn’t exist or were a rarity. The one thing I love about black people is that when we don’t fit into a community, we just make our own. This is an occurrence I have noticed becoming more popular, and I’m living for it. 

As an adult, I’ve decided the fangirl life isn’t for me anymore, and my fellow black girls must have agreed because our community fizzled out. I’ll always be grateful for it because I’ve made lifelong friends I’ve known for years. However, with the community dead and gone, I started to feel empty again. I loved being part of a community where black people can just be themselves and relate to each other on levels that no one else would understand. So I went looking for more and found a ton on Facebook. Despite the faults that Facebook has, there are communities for everything black that you can think of. For instance, I’ve immersed myself in the following communities: 

• BuyBlack4Life

• Stocks and Profit Community with Tela Holcomb

• Black Travel Movement

• Black Girls Craft

• Dream Cathers: Live Richer w/ the Budgetnista

• Black on the Job

• Black Women Who Love Interior Design

• Black Girls Build

• The Stocks & Stilettos Society

Most of the groups I listed are spaces for black women specifically, but there are communities where we all fit in. Not only am I learning valuable life skills, but I’m explicitly learning them from other black people who have expertise in the area. I’m learning how to manage my finances better by black women, I’m learning how to build and buy stocks from black women, and I’m immersing myself in a community of black business owners. 

It’s beautiful to me that we’re thriving in communities that have excluded us for years. I look to the black elders who came before me and made the mistakes that I don’t have to learn from. They answer my questions and offer advice to my generation and the one after me so we can all come up together. Safe black spaces are so very dear to my heart because it’s about time we start building as one.

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The Effects of Financial Insecurity on the Mental Health of College Students

By: Sydni Hatley

College is a weird time for many. You are away from home for the first time but are usually still financially dependent on your parents. You can make your own decisions and don’t have adult supervision governing your every move, but for most of that time are not even old enough to legally buy a drink.

And finally, you have the freedom to do what you want, but not the funds to do it. College students are told that the four years they spend at a University will be huge in determining their career path and success, however they do not always have the funds to afford college itself, let alone the many personal expenses that come with it. 

According to sciencedaily.com, “experiencing financial difficulties and worrying about debt at university increases the risk of mental health conditions such as depression and alcohol dependency”. College students stress so much about how to pay for school because, let’s face it, college is expensive! Thousands of dollars and it isn’t getting cheaper. Not everyone can afford this and that is completely understandable.

Many families struggle to pay for their kids to go to school, and many kids share the financial stresses with their parents. This stress comes from the want to help out and not see their own parents struggling, but the reality is, it is hard for a college student to raise that kind of money mostly or entirely on their own. Attending college itself is expensive and it is basically impossible to be a full-time student while working a job that makes enough to pay for it. Financial insecurity is a constant stressor, so the fact that many students must find a way to pay for that and personal, day-to-day life expenses makes it easy to understand the connection to increased depression and alcohol dependency. 

The need for money and financial stability is the main reason why so many college students become personal entrepreneurs while in school. Students start their own hair businesses, paper-writing businesses, lash tech businesses, makeup businesses, and anything that can help bring in some money. Students are forced to get creative for pocket-change, and sometimes are forced to do so whether it is by legal or even illegal means.

If the cost of obtaining an education were not so expensive and catered to the middle-upper and upper classes, students would not have to do so much to make the money for their education. College itself is already stressful enough with having to compete with your classmates and get grades good enough to get you a good job. This also does not include the need to be involved on and off campus as well, so a financial stressor on a college student’s back is just one more thing to cause their mental health to deteriorate. 

To assist with relieving financial stress off of college student’s backs, institutions should consider either lowering the (unnecessary) costs affiliated with the institution, or at least offer more scholarship opportunities. They should also consider allocating more of the money that is donated to the institution to scholarships that will help make school more affordable. Education should not be expensive, it should really be free, but if America wants to charge its students, it should at least make attendance more accessible for all.

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Phenomenal Woman | Remembering Maya Angelou

By: Kwana Adams

Every time Black History month comes along, many articles pop up about historical black figures and their contributions to black history. I know you’re tired of it, but here’s another one. This person is significant to me, and I will always shout my love for them from the rooftops. This article is about one of my favorite black women of all time: Maya Angelou. She had such a long and beautiful life; it continually amazes me. She is one of my most significant role models and answers to, “who do I look up to?”

As a black woman and a writer, she stands out like a star for me. I can recite “Phenomenal Woman” word for word. Her poems and her books just speak to me on such a deep level. I never tire of reading them. I’ve always considered myself a great writer, but my Achilles heel is writing poetry. It’s one of the things I struggle with when it comes to being a writer.

Every time I read one of her poems, I marvel at the talent she had for putting words together and making them sound beautiful and flow so effortlessly. She had such a beautiful way with words for someone who didn’t speak a word for five years of their life. During this period of her life, she immersed herself in all kinds of literature, reading authors such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and even Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe. Although there were many men authors whose work she familiarized herself with, it was a black woman who finally helped her gain her voice back. In a way, Ms. Angelou is that woman for me. I like to think that ‘Phenomenal Woman’ was written for little black girls like me, as a child, who needed someone to tell them those words. I am a phenomenal woman, and so is every other black woman. 

As a writer, anything and everything can be an inspiration. When I find myself struggling for words, I love to read her work and get out of my element; just go outside and find my own words. It helps me to read the work of legends and imagine myself one day being in their shoes. Her words and her work are important to me. Having black women figures to look up to in general is essential to me. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a man’s world. Ms. Angelou never dulled her shine for men, and neither shall I. One of my favorite lines from one of her poems is,

“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, 

I am the hope and the dream of the slave. 

I rise.

I rise.

I rise.”

Maya Angelou Recites a Poem at Bill Clinton’s Inauguration

My main ambition to succeed in life is to make my family and my ancestors proud. Sometimes when I think about life and where we are in history, I think about the suffering that my ancestors went through for me to be able even to be typing this right now. I think of every generation who got another step closer to making a better life for their descendants. Maya Angelou put all of those feelings into words for me, and I wish I could thank her. Since I can’t, this article is my tribute to her. Thank you, Maya. Thank you for teaching me why the caged bird sings. Thank you for helping me find my voice.

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Celebrating Black Culture: Black History Needs A Longer Month

By: Kwana Adams

There’s something about Black History Month that makes me feel so close to my fellow black people. There’s also something about Black History Month that makes me feel ripped off. First off, they gave us the shortest month of the year. Second of all, why are we celebrating black history when we’re not learning black history?

This is something that has been bothering me since I became a college student and broadened my horizons. I learned so much, on my own, that I’ve wondered, why haven’t we been taught this? For instance, when I read the story of Medgar Evars, the anger that flowed through my body was real. Why did my teachers not teach me about him? In front of his family, this man was murdered in his driveway, and they didn’t think we needed to learn about him? He was a veteran who fought for a country whose citizens shot him dead in front of his home. He was also a prominent civil rights activist who died fighting for the cause. So many other black people did, too, but we hardly get to hear about them. I want to know why. 

When I was in school before college, black history month was just slavery, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr. Am I supposed to be grateful for this? Where is the rest? Why are you keeping our history from us? I know all about European history because it’s part of the curriculum, but why was black history taught separately?

Black history is so vast and so rich, but they’re barely scratching the surface on what they teach us in school. Every day I learn something new about black history, and I can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t significant enough to add to the curriculum. 

The world likes to pretend that slavery, civil rights, and segregation happened hundreds of years ago, but they didn’t. My grandmother marched with Dr. King. There were areas in the city she and her black friends weren’t allowed to step foot. Recently, I did an audio documentary project that touched on this subject. My goal was to interview all people of all generations and races and question them about the black history education they received in school. I never got around to interviewing too many people because the stories my grandparents told were just too great. The whole project ended up being about them, what they learned about black history in school, and what they experienced growing up during the 60s and 70s. My grandparents lived some of what they’re teaching us now, and they are still well and alive. 

I’m from the state of Rhode Island, which resides up north on the east coast. People, especially Rhode Islanders, love to pretend that the north isn’t as racist as the south. My grandparents would beg to differ. The racism here isn’t as blatant as it is in the south. In Providence, the city I’m from, there is a small area called Federal Hill, also known sometimes as ‘Little Italy.’ Federal Hill is a long street filled with all types of Italian restaurants. Nowadays, it’s an excellent spot for couples to go on dates or for friends to sit and enjoy a meal.

Back in the 70s, when my grandparents were growing up, they were chased out of this area and called the N-word, with the hard ER. When they told me this story, I was disgusted and appalled. I go through Federal Hill freely all the time. I never stopped to think that it wasn’t always like that for everyone. It also really makes me think, “if my grandparents are still alive, then most likely the people who chased them off are alive as well.” This is why teaching black history is so important. The people who caused the most hurt are alive and walking among us without a care in this world. The people who chased my grandparents off and hurled slurs at them live happily while my grandparents and family live with the pain of how they were treated. The least you can do is give us our history.

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Editorial: Is it Possible For You To Retain Your Racial Identity While Receiving A Formal Education?

By: Lauryn Bass

Is it possible for you to retain your racial identity while receiving a formal education? The fact that this question has been posed as a discussion is quite humorous. As you go through the regular K-12 school system, you learn and grow with what you experience in and outside of the home and classroom. You are shaped by so many things, but this does not take away from who you are as a person.

Consider the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child." It is impossible for someone to be shaped into an efficient communicator without being exposed to the outside world of their community. Yet, you retain what makes you happy, what you understand to be true and morph into who you are supposed to be. 

But let's go back to the question at hand: Can you be you, with outside forces at hand? Well to introduce myself, I am a black woman from Georgia attending Hampton University. Sure, that can be attached to a little bit of information about me--but not who I am. I am me by how I walk, talk, and carry myself. My beliefs, thoughts, interests, are all mine and can't be compared to anyone else.

Where my influence stems from can come from my parents, friends, religion, what I've perceived, or even innovated from what I've gained from my studies. People are not supposed to be one set thing. We are allowed to change our minds, make mistakes, and expand. So to believe that you may lose or gain any part of yourself by attending a secondary education system is quite absurd. In all honesty, it is based on insecurity. 

I understand the argument that many around me know as "code-switching". This is when you change to fit into the atmosphere around you. As a minority, for us to even take a step to be in the doors with the big boys, we have to change to fit a Eurocentric standard. For example, lessening our use of slang, straightening our hair, cutting our locs, ridding ourselves of our accents, shielding our cultural prints, you name it. Anything to conform to our brethren and sistren who aren't exactly like us culturally. But that shouldn't matter. But it is the way of the world where white-privilege has to continually be pushed to the limit so that we can demand change and be who we are.

Currently, we had to pass the Crown Act of 2020 just so that we won't be judge by our physical but by the hard work we do and the content of our character in the workplace. This just shows how far we have come but also how behind we were in terms of equality. It is a sad truth, but much like the thought that you can't be who you are and also strive to be smarter and wiser just doesn't sit well in my spirit because it is just not true.

As we age, we definitely lose parts of us that were keeping us stagnant. We also cherish the memories that brought us to where we stand in the present. Education is just like that. I don't know about most but unless you have a photographic memory, you do not retain ALL that you are taught in college. You soak up as much as you can and use what is beneficial to you. You keep what you need.

As far as my culture, I keep what I need. There are things that are cultural that we can also grow from to be better. Traditions aren't always the best and you have the ability to create new ones. As you learn, you take back what helped you to your families and communities so that we can become better and better as time passes. We learn more about government, financial literacy, anything to progress and keep history from repeating.

Think of the doctors who tested gained more knowledge from testing and creating vaccines for smallpox. They are no less the person they were before and after totally eradicating the disease. They then shared their discovery with the world and made life a little less hard. I know that the biggest disagreement that Frank possibly had with Obama was his grammar. It is known for illiteracy to be a common cultural difference in the Black community but look at our history; are you surprised?

As you dive deeper into ebonics, you find that English is very complex. New words are created every day, much of our language comes from another--it is very telling about your roots how you speak. But whether or not your proficiency level is eloquent or full of idiosyncrasies, does not define who you are. At the end of the day, you're just communicating. The way you speak is a personal choice. You decide who you are and who you want to be.

In conclusion, the education you obtain does not define who you are but just adds to the qualities you have to offer. It adds to your story, your walk, your journey. It is possible to bring what you've learned from every place you've been with you in bits and pieces. You are a collage full of color, ridges, dips, and glued pieces. Life is not simply black or white. It's grey. You will not be like your parents but a mix. Your siblings will reflect who you are. Your friends will shape who you are. Ultimately, you will turn out to be the best you and there should be no shame in that. Do what helps others and makes you happy, and do not worry about if you'll lose who you were or are. You won't.

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24 Images Of Martin Luther King Jr. In Color

By: Omar Cook

Growing up, we were shown black and white images of the civil rights movement depicting this time period as if it happened so long ago. Rarely do we see our heroes and legends of the past in full color, in particular Martin Luther King, Jr.

This was obviously intentional as our textbooks were designed to show us this on purpose. For Martin Luther King, Jr. day, we compiled a gallery of full color images of this iconic leader so you can see very clearly that this time period was not too long ago.

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Natural Remedies For Fibroid Treatment: Diet, Herbal Remedies, and Lifestyle Changes

By: Emily-Ann

First and foremost, happy new year! This year started with a bit of chaos and uncertainty. Amid our uncertainty, one thing we can take control of is our reproductive health. 

If you are reading this post it's because you enjoyed our last post where we discussed fibroids. In the previous post, we discussed the alarming rate at which women of color, specifically African/Caribbean women being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Research links fibroids to deficiency of vitamin D, a hormone produced in the body when the sun penetrates the skin. Taking Vitamin D3 supplements can help prevent the fibroid(s) from increasing in size.

Before we get into the alternatives let me give you some background story. I became educationally aware of the condition. I was unsatisfied with the answers given to me by a childhood doctor. It was more of dismissal and “ Ah, don’t worry about it, many women have children even with fibroids”. Only to find out almost two years later, it grew and so did my symptoms along with an irregular period. I am happy to say, I have made improvements with the changes I have implemented so far.

Over the last two years, I have very familiar with the condition and experienced some of the most common symptoms of fibroids. Gaining knowledge about fibroids I began to ask questions like, what I can do to improve my quality of life? What can I do naturally to shrink and rid my uterus of fibroids without surgery? I found different herbs that may aid in this process, and alleviate symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Seeking natural remedies for shrinking the fibroids is fueled by my urge to preserve my fertility and the health of my uterus. 

Doctors often focus on treating the symptom(s) and not the root cause. They do this by recommending extracting the fibroid(s) using different methods. Performing a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) is one of the popular suggestions depending on the size and even suggesting hormonal therapy, which for a young person can wreak havoc on the body. They mean well but, you also have to know what is right for you and speak up for yourself. 

Before seeking alternative methods for dealing with my fibroids, I felt like I was being dismissed by the doctor, and I had this doctor since I was a small child. I was extremely hurt and disappointed when my fibroid grew within a year of doing nothing besides monitor at the advice of the first doctor. This became my motivation to change my provider, and ask for a different OBGYN who was a good fit for me. Think of it this way, finding the right provider is like a relationship. You wouldn’t stay in a relationship that was no longer serving you.

Herbs

Let’s talk about mother nature’s kitchen, shall we? I mean it’s been around for as long as humans have been consuming and reproducing. It’s only natural that we return to what we know, at times we fall short, and our bodies will let us know very quickly when something is off. I will introduce some of the herbs and their meniscal properties that help in striking fibroids and detoxing the body.

Red clover tea

Red Raspberry Leaf tea

Dandelion root tea

Milk Thistle

Yellow-Dock 

Stinging Nettle Leaf

Burdock Root

Chaste berry (Vitex)

Herbs

Burdock Root

Burdock Root

Burdock Root is the herb you want to get familiar with if any, because of its overall health for the body and healing properties possessed in just one plant. The benefits of this herb are more for overall health and not just for fibroids. 

• Healthy skin

• Boost the immune system

• Prevents cancer

• Balances blood sugar

• Cures tonsillitis

• Healthy for the liver, which is important for getting rid of excess estrogen in the body

Red Clover

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is a flower that is in the same family as beans and peas. This dark pink herbaceous plant originates from North Africa, Europe, and Asia. Red clover is an overall fertility booster and improves circulation, and can also help promote cervical fluid. 

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

This herbal remedy tones uterus muscles and is packed with very critical vitamins and minerals for boosting your fertility. Some benefits include vitamin C, E, and strengthen the uterine lining. This herb improves the outcome of labor and prevents excessive bleeding after childbirth. Currently it is my favorite herb so far, due to various benefits for women’s health.

Dandelion Root & Leaf

Dandelion Root & Leaf known as Taraxium Officinalis provides liver support to help with hormonal health. This herb is high in vitamins and minerals that nourish the whole body and provide liver health.

Chaste berry (Vitex)

Chasteberry is also known as Vitex Agnes-castus. This particular herb has effects that will signal the brain to release a luteinizing hormone which is responsible for triggering ovulation. This helps the ovaries produce more progesterone, which is critical for supporting early pregnancy. Vitex also helps normalize hormone balance and regulates a healthy period and manages PMS symptoms. 

Many of these herbs come in teas, pills, and droplets. 

Milk Thistle

This herb is known as Silybum marianum. Milk Thistle stimulates the secretion of bile in the liver which aids in proper digestion of the hormone estrogen. 

Sting Nettle

The scientific name is Urtica dioica, this herb can be found in Europe, Asia, and North-Western Africa. Now, this herb can be found worldwide and is said to be helpful to remove fibroids, promote regulation of hormones, menstrual cycle, and reduce PMS symptoms. This herb has many other benefits like a digestive aid, urinary tract benefits, hair loss, hair conditions. 

Yellow-Dock

Primarily used to treat low iron when dealing with fibroids. Yellow-Dock is used for poor digestion and liver detoxification. This herb was mentioned, but I still have yet to try this particular herb myself.

Heating Oil Packs

This method calls for flannel cloth, heating pad, and a towel used to help keep in the heat. Saturate the flannel cloth in Jamaican black castor oil. Place the flannel cloth on the lower abdomen, and place the heating pad over it. Sit in a quiet place, meditate, watch a show/movie for 30 minutes. There might be some dripping, so it’s a good idea to keep an extra towel around. This method is to be applied several times a week. It’s another way to effectively shrink fibroids and relieve pain.

Bonus, look up the benefits of molasses and fibroids, the benefits of this particular product regarding fibroids will surprise you.

Additional Support

Seeking additional help from a Naturopathic doctor to help identify the cause of certain foods that may be contributing to inflammation of the body. This is said to be one of the primary reasons for the fibroids appearing in the uterus. They can also help in balancing hormone levels. Accountability and Support from family, friends, and loved ones can make a huge impact. There will be days where you don’t feel like it or slip up and have that sweet snack.  Don’t worry and remember to be kind to yourself.

Let our team know if this list was helpful. If you want to know more information, drop a comment below and let’s continue the conversation here on 247LiveCulture.

Disclaimer: Please, consult with your healthcare provider before starting or any prolonged use of any of these herbs. I am not a healthcare professional nor do I claim to be one. I am sharing the herbs I have found to be helpful.

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Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): What You Should Know

By: Sydni Hatley

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - what is it and how do you know you have it? 

Women deal with many things that feel close to the unimaginable. From cramps and menstrual cycles, to mood swings and hormone fluctuations, all the way down to bringing forth new life and the bodily changes that come with it—women deal with a lot. But what is PCOS and how does it fit into all of this? It’s actually a lot more common than we think, and may be the cause for a lot of unfavorable bodily functions that women do not like.

PCOS is a condition that affects the hormonal balance within women. Women with PCOS have higher levels of male hormones than the average, and experience things like irregular periods, weight gain, excessive or unwanted hair growth, ovarian cysts, acne, and difficulty getting pregnant. Many women actually do not realize that they have PCOS, as it is something that must be diagnosed by a doctor. However, it is possible to make a personal assessment of your own body to see if what you experience aligns with any of these listed symptoms. After that you can inquire about it to your doctor whenever you are comfortable.

So now you are probably wondering: is this life threatening, and how can I deal with the symptoms? In general it should not be life threatening, and there are ways to remedy these symptoms. For your period and excess hair growth, the most common recommendation is usually birth control. Birth control is known to regulate the period, and it will also balance out those imbalance of hormones that are throwing things off.

You can take vitamins as a source of vitamin D to help promote ovulation and fertility as well, and when it comes to the weight gain caused by a metabolic dysfunction from PCOS, you can manage it by changing your diet and going gluten and dairy free. It may not be easy, but it may be worth it! As far as ovarian cysts, you can get those surgically removed, and talk to your doctor/dermatologist about ways to remedy the acne you experience. Natural alternatives to helping remedy PCOS symptoms will also be linked below. 

The unwanted hair specifically can be annoying, but there are ways to help reduce it that are natural as well. You can drink spearmint tea twice a day to slow the growth of the hair, and take zinc tablets to help as well. If you are plucking the hair and experience scarring (especially for black women) due to ingrown hairs, you can use treatments such as “Tend Skin” or the Ingrown Hair Serum from the European Wax Center twice a day for reference. 

Keke Palmer recently opened up about discovering that she herself was diagnosed with PCOS in order to bring awareness to it.

“For some of you this may be TMI, but for me my platform has always been used for things much greater than me,” she said. “Polycystic [ovary] syndrome has been attacking me from the inside out my entire life and I had no idea.”

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The bottom line is, for women it takes a lot to feel beautiful, let alone when you have what seems like so many forces working against you with PCOS. The silver lining is that you or not alone in having this condition, as more women have it than you think. With the right tools and research, you can reverse these symptoms and finally live the life you want to. 

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2020, The Year Of Awakening And Re-Adjusting: Racial Tension, Protests, And A Pandemic

Nick Cannon Speaking Out at a Protest For George Floyd - STAR TRIBUNE VIA GETTY IMAGES

By: James Teague

Everything that’s been happening so far isn’t a coincidence. When the new year started, everybody proclaimed that 2020 was going to be the year of clear vision as we closed a chapter of the last decade. But ever since the year started, it has been a chain of bizarre events that have occurred.

I know for me, everything started when we lost our NBA childhood hero Kobe “Bean” Bryant. It still doesn’t sit right with me that physically Black Mamba is no longer here with us. Next up, was the introduction of COVID-19, an unknown virus that suddenly spread worldwide causing a global pandemic. At first America didn't think too much about Coronavirus for it to really be a threat and took things lightly. But suddenly the number of people that came into contact with COVID increased, which then caused all of America to shut down and quarantine. 

Everybody transitioned from working in their offices to working from home while other workers who still had to stay outside in the public due to their place of employment were deemed essential. These turn of events caused jobs to either place their employees on furlough or make major budget cuts by letting go of their employees. The unemployment rate was said to have been at 13.3 percent, but recently it was discovered that an error was made with the May numbers of unemployment and that it should be higher.

We sat back and witnessed the government give big corporations unchecked billions of dollars for bailout meanwhile Americans experiencing unemployment only received a one time $1200 stimulus check payment to cover for four months of quarantine. Not only was the stimulus check not enough to cover for all of the months of quarantine but some households still have yet to receive their money. Then as the curve for COVID-19 started to slowly flatten, Trump and his cronies all decided they wanted to prematurely open America back up while unemployment was still high and citizens were still in need of financial assistance. The government showed that they failed to act by not putting enough effort in assisting American in our time of need.

Tension is rising between Americans and the government. Citizens were getting frustrated watching the government lose focus on assisting those heavily impacted by COVID-19. The political parties were all too focused on saving their own asses by pointing fingers at each other while either have provided very little updates on a vaccine to battle against coronavirus. I started watching this thinking to myself like ”I really can’t believe that I'm watching this unveil in front of our eyes. It feels like this is nothing but a sick joke.”  At first I thought to myself that “things just couldn't get any worse. But then I learned that death comes in 3’s.

It first started off with the death of Ahmad Arbery, who was killed by a racist father and son duo while he was jogging midway through a neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia. Then next up, was Breonna Taylor who was murdered in her own home while in her sleep by the Louisville Metro Police Department. The final straw was the death of George Floyd as footage was released of Police officer Derek Chauvin with his hands in pockets acting nonchalant while his knees were to the back of George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

To be Black in America and know that racism and police brutality can still happen to us even while in a Global Pandemic is just egregious. To get reminded that we’re not safe by either the coronavirus, the police department, and the government is insane. We’re really experiencing two pandemics and one of them has been continuous for the last 400 years even with the quote on quote “minor changes” in America. 

So here we are again having to repeat again and go back outside to protest our right except this time this is occurring in the middle of a pandemic. But as I watched through social media how the protests around America started one by one, I started noticing how different the energy was this time around. When the protest first started, I saw how everybody was letting their frustrations out through the looting and destruction of Target and some of the high end stores in Phipps Plaza. But then afterwards, the protest started to become more focused and executed with a purpose.

Each protest was bigger than the last and we started gaining more allies. I started seeing more people who weren’t black were finally waking up and understanding what we’ve been trying to tell people for decades now about what we experience. And all it took was a Global Pandemic to shut down work, sports, entertainment, and vacations in order for people to sit down and really see what we were trying to tell them. And to top it off, we were starting to see some progress actually being made through the protests and riots such as the killers of Ahmaud Arbery finally getting arrested and charged for his murder. 

Jamie Foxx Speaking At A Protest For George Floyd

Throughout my 29 years here living here I don’t think I’ve even seen anything like what’s been going with all of these events. Even comparing how the protests were this year compared to when Mike Brown died in Ferguson, there'’s been so much that’s been unveiled to us during this time. I don't know if this is just me but with everything that’s been revealed around us, it feels like we’re experiencing a reckoning. Police brutaliy, murder, civil unrest, protest, violence, racists, rapists, mysogynists all being exposed, old systems and beliefs dying out, and the plight of black women and black men is sums up 2020.. And all it took was for a global pandemic to shut life activities down and force those to sit down and watch.

This is the end of the “normal” life that we once used to know and now we’re being forced to re-adjust into this “new normal.” This awakening is not only happening in the world but it is also happening in our own personal lives. By the unveiling of these ugly truths about what’s going on in the world, the universe is really giving us a chance to look deep within ourselves to re-evaluate who we are, where we stand (mentally, spiritually, & morally), our goals, dreams, and decide where we want our lives to be during this decade.

We really have an opportunity to make necessary changes to improve the trajectory of our lives. We have a chance to get our spirits right and move with more purpose and urgency. I don't know about you but I'm seeing more people move more intentionally and with purpose on how to get the poor leadership in america to really pay attention to what we’re telling them. 

Everybody has a story. We all have all been placed here in this world for a specific purpose and right now is the appropriate time to self reflect in order to figure out where to start your walk. Now even though there’s change going on around us we also need to keep in mind there's distractions all around us and they can  come in many different forms. One form of a distraction can come from media propaganda like how they’ve either portrayed the protestors or how they’ve pushed the topic of COVID-19. Another form of distraction is paying attention to how the government is pushing to prematurely open all of America back up  for the sake of the economy and putting out mixed information to deceive the viewer on what the numbers are for COVID 19.

Another source of distractions can be through social media if not used properly. With google around and people telling others to just “google,” there is a mass amount of false information on the internet that one can read and attempt to spread in an attempt to educate and its dangerous how quickly that information gets around. Add that in and mic it with certain trending topics and some may lose our focus and its ok.  We’re humans and we’re going to get sidetracked from time to time. But we must stay tapped in before we’re able to become our higher selves.

I don’t know about y’all but I don’t want to go back to how life used to be especially now since we are living in the new revolution. We’re all starting to find our voices and  speaking out for the voiceless. We have to constantly remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. Change doesn't happen overnight and we have long ways to go. Truth be told, we’re probably not going to really see true progress until decades later when our children's grandchildren are in our shoes as young adults. But until then, we have a responsibility to find our roles in this revolution and dedicate ourselves to making the changes that we love to see not only in the world but in ourselves.

We can not only create a social reform in society but we can also get back focused on those life dreams we have and create the dream lives we want. So many of us got back refocused because of this pandemic and have been making progress in our goals, dreams, etc. We truly have the power in our hands to become the change we see in our vision. So make it count.

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Video Shows Minneapolis Police Killing George Floyd While Detained

By: Omar Cook

It seems we hear this story time and time again, another Black man dead at the hands of the police. On Monday, George Floyd, 46, died after being suffocated by a Minneapolis police for nearly 10 minutes while being detained. Video of the incident showed an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck causing him to lose breath and eventually pass away.

My heart is breaking, I’ve never sobbed this hard in my life. I hope the police officer gets what he deserves, I’m so angry.pic.twitter.com/3qFSVM8gy0#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter #GeorgeFloyd

— being black is not a crime (@calmyourtitsluv) May 29, 2020

Floyd was heard repeatedly screaming that he could not breathe but the officer persisted to keep his knee on his neck. 4 officers were involved in the incident and have since been fired. This comes soon after the video of Ahmaud Arbery was released showing his murder as he jogged through a neighborhood. Another incident in New York happened as a woman called the cops on a Black man giving a false accusation that he was assaulting her all because he asked her to put a leash on her dog.

A woman aka “Karen” calls the police to say an “African-American man is threatening my life” by asking her to leash her dog in Central Park in New York City: pic.twitter.com/hfDgDWhFrV

— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) May 25, 2020

If it wasn’t for the video evidence of this man recording her admit she was going to lie and call the cops on him, this might be another incident where another Black was sent to jail because of an accusation, or worse. How many Black men are sitting behind bars because of false accusations and didn’t have the video evidence to support their case? These types of situations have the cost the lives of Black men since the beginning of America and yet in 2020, we’re still dealing with them.

What’s crazy is the officers have yet to be charged with murder despite it being seen clearly on video. The officers claims of Floyd resisting arrest are also not supported in newly released footage showing what happened beforehand. Protests have broken out in Minneapolis over the last couple days and it seems they will continue until justice is served properly.

george floyd was not resisting arrest. this video got taken down, please spread it pic.twitter.com/wh0vBeEEpf

— #BLM (@seulqx) May 29, 2020

Every time a situation occurs like this, there seems to be a group of white people who will always say “All Lives Matter” or will bring up the issue of black on black crime. Every race has crime issues, now how does that justify an unarmed black man being killed while being detained and not resisting arrest? These are the times when the true racists show their true colors. There is a definite need for change regarding how law enforcement deals with people of color and its hundreds of years overdue.

Video Shows Minneapolis Police Killing George Floyd While Detained

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