✨ WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT #BLACKLIVESMATTER ✨
First of all, I’m not an expert in this area at all.
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I’m just a woman with a big heart who loves people and committed to bringing harmony and love to the world because I know we can do better as humankind.
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I didn’t want to share something just for the sake of it, I wanted to dive deep into learning what has been happening to Black people for 400 years.
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After days of absorbing, watching, reading, listening, there was a point where all of it hit me. I pretty much spent all of yesterday crying, feeling the collective pain and opening my eyes.
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I allowed shame, guilt, anger, sadness all of it to be there to be felt and released so I can come to a point of, "Right, what do I do now?"
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You have to feel it all otherwise you can’t move past the reaction, to make a difference.
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This is just a starting point of course. I commit to being an ally, continuing to learn, stay open, feel and take action continuously.
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I’d like to share what I came across that was helpful to raise awareness as this is not just political, it's humanitarian. It's basic human rights. It's all humanity’s problem, not just Black, Americans or any people in colour's problem.
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Of course all lives matter but for all lives to matter, Black lives has to matter right now.
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50 states in the US and 18 countries are participating in #Blacklivesmatter protests right now, which makes it the largest civil rights movement the world history.
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This is absolutely amazing because it shows that finally change is coming ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
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I’ll share what you can do to contribute and show up around this as I know so many white and some non-Black people would be confused and unsure in what to do. I definitely was.
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Feel into what your truth is, don't just do things for the sake of it, feel it in your heart.
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Come from truth, not shame.
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WHAT CAN I DO?
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💫 ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEEL IT ALL
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Feel how you're feeling right now. Don't run away from it, don't escape it. Feel it all especially if you’re non-Black, to really emphatise what has been black people's reality for a very long time.
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It doesn’t matter whether you’re Black or not. A cruelty to a Black person is a cruelty to all humankind. Don't be in denial, watch George Floyd's video. You can choose not to of course and that's absolutely ok.
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But recognise that video is a reality Black people have to face on a regular basis, suttle or overtly. If we want to make the world a better place, we need to be able to feel each other. Listen to what Black people are saying right now.
Go at a pace that feels good for you, breathe, move, feel it all, let go.
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“Oh Great Spirit, keep me from ever judging a man until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.”
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- Sioux Indian Prayer
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💫 GET INTO RESOURCES TO LEARN AND UNDERSTAND
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This is important. We didn't learn this in school.
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Most of us grew up in a world that was favoured by White people in a White world.
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#Blacklivesmatter doesn’t say only Black lives matter. All lives matter but when there is a crisis around a certain group, we focus on them to further support, love them, listen and bring awareness to them and their story.
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Get into books, podcasts, documentaries. I will offer some resources in the next post.
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"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
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- Nelson Mandela
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💫 FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION
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There are many ways you can support this movement.
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First learn about it through resources and feel it all.
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You can speak up and share about it in your community, family and friends.
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You can join the protests.
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You can donate.
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In the long-term, look into how you can make your business more inclusive including Black beauty, intelligence, greatness and success.
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(Ex: make up artist having Black women in their portfolio, branding including Black people, speaking platforms having Black speakers, kids' books having Black kids illustrations etc)
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Take messy, imperfect action.
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"Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it that makes a difference."
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- Nolan Bushnell
Jane Elliott is an educator about racism. She’s absolutely incredible.
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“There’s only one race, the human race.” - Jane Elliott
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She says how human race began with Black people and as they moved away from the Ecuador, their bodies, hair, skin and eyes adjusted to the natural environment.
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She talks about how "I don’t see colour" is actually not acknowledging the wholeness of the person infront of you, their history and a big part of them.
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The day after Martin Luther King Jr was killed, she decided to teach her third grade primary school students about racism.
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She decided to give an experience to the class to walk in the shoes of a child of colour for a day.
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We learn the best through experience and empathy, so this is an absolute genius experiment she took the risk of doing at the time which was viewed as shocking.
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She divided the class into blue eyed kids and brown eyed kids and off it started.
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If you're White or non-Black but lived your life in a privileged way, this is the one single powerful thing you can watch to put things into perspective in how it feels to be discriminated against, in my opinion.
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It’s a 45 min video that she uses this exercise on a group of adults. Go watch it.
As you watch, ask yourself, “How can I learn from this?”
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Emphatise, breathe, feel what comes up for you.
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It’s an intense video but no one said revolution happens peacefully and comfortably.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqv9k3jbtYU
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💫 READ
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✨ I need to talk to spiritual white women about white supremacy (PART 1) - http://laylafsaad.com/poetry-…/white-women-white-supremacy-1
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✨ I need to talk to spiritual white women about white supremacy (PART 2) - http://laylafsaad.com/poetry-…/white-women-white-supremacy-2
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✨ How to Respond to Common Racist Statements - https://www.instagram.com/p/CBBTQ7kgT1S/?igshid=3oubizx2wla3
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✨ “Me & White Supremacy” - Layla F. Saad
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💫 WATCH
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✨ Dear White People - https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA6XUruBYAO/…
✨ Systematic Racism Explained - https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA-6jGOn2__/…
✨ “13th on Netflix
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💫 DONATE
✨ Black Lives Matter - https://blacklivesmatter.com
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✨ Black Minds Matter - https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-minds-matter-uk…
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💫 SIGN
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✨ Updating the Reading List in Schools - https://www.change.org/p/department-of-education-battle-rac…
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This is an underlying system built over hundreds of years so of course it won’t change over night. What can change is you can start learning and taking action now.
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The light can’t exist without the dark. But the dark can exist without the light. The dark will always have more power if we don't shed light to it. It is so important to go into the shadow right now to then come out into the light.
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This includes owning our systematic racism if we're privileged as we all have been part of it in some way knowingly or unknowingly through many systems in the society. It's not our fault but it doesn't have to stop there. We can own our privilege and put it in good use.
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Yesterday I was crying my eyes out in grief and sadness. This morning I was crying, jumping up and down making breakfast in joy for being alive.
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Feel it all without running away from it. Face it head on then ask, "What am I going to do about it?"
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I love you so much 💛
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Isik xx