“Racism is about the impact and the hurt of their actions. Intentions do not matter. And that’s a hard one for people, because they cling to being good as a way of saying “I am not racist.” And my thing is, I don’t care if you’re racist. I care if you’re hurting me.”

“Tupac has this wonderful quote, where he talks about, you know, you being outside a house full of food and you’re hungry, and you knock on the door and they don’t answer and then you bang on the door, and then you sing a little song to maybe convince them to come out and open and feed you. And he says, after a while, you know you’re literally going to starve. You’re just breaking down the door because you’re not asking to eat anymore. You’re demanding to eat.

So, we could ask them to get off of us, but that’s not going to work. We have to do what I described in this book, that’s the resistance part and the power part. When we fight back, when we organize, when we say no to racism, when we say no to discrimination, when we say no to poverty, that’s when we really get free. It’s when we fight for it.”

“I think we have to cultivate resistance to hopelessness. We have to cultivate a spirit of fighting and of perseverance. We cannot accept the diversions and the excuses.”

– Desmond Cole, Toronto Journalist & Author

#amplifyblackvoices
#blackoutweek
#standup #stepup #speakup

“If you just change one person’s life, you feel like you’ve done something. But if you can change a whole lot of them and get them looking at themselves differently, it’s amazing.”

“Be true. Be beautiful. Be free. In the midst of segregation and racism Mamma raised us to be independent and free. We saw ourselves as citizens of the world, not of a block.”

http://www.oprah.com/own-where-are-they-now/how-race-issues-made-dancing-queen-debbie-allen-stronger-video

Debbie Allen @therealdebbieallen

#amplifyblackvoices #blackoutweek #iamlistening #standup #stepup #speakup

“What’s the problem with being ‘not racist?’ It is a claim that signifies neutrality: I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism. But there is no neutrality in the racism struggle… One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is no in-between safe space of ‘not racist. The claim of ‘not racist’ neutrality is a mask for racism.”

“History is calling the future from the streets of protest. What choice will we make? What world will we create? What will we be? There are only two choices: racist or anti-racist.”

“It is empty when politicians call for healing and peace without stating the specific anti racist policies they’re aiming to institute. Words can bring momentary healing and peace. Policy change can bring lasting healing and peace by rooting out the racism suffocating so many people. We can’t breathe. We want to breathe.”

-IBRAM X. KENDI

#amplifyblackvoices #blackoutweek #iamlistening #standup #stepup #speakup

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.”

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

• Maya Angelou

#amplifyblackvoices #blackoutweek #iamlistening #stepup #standup #speakup

“Scars are the evidence that wounds can heal. That wounds don’t last forever. That healing is possible.”

“Talking about racism is not ‘being political.’ It’s being real.”

“I see a lot of support on issues of race in America. While I’m grateful for sincere participation I’m sad it took a handcuff man, not resisting, and perfect camera angles to get you to hear our cries.”

– Lecrae

#amplifyblackvoices #blackoutweek #iamlistening #standup #stepup #speakup

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
“We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”

“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

– Nelson Mandela 

#amplifyblackvoices #iamlistening#standup #stepup #speakup

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way of love. Love is not emotional bash; it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one’s whole being into the being of another.”

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

“No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

#amplifyblackvoices #blackoutweek #loveoneanother #standup #showup #speakup

“In 1969, when black citizens in the United States were not permitted to swim in community pools along side white people, Fred Rogers brought a black police officer to his television show and invited him to cool his feet with him in a small, plastic wading pool. Mr. Rogers then helped Officer Clemmons to dry his feet. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Remind you of anyone? ⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“After dinner, Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.” (John 13:4-5) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Mr. Rogers never openly preached on his show, despite being an ordained Presbyterian minister. Yet he preached volumes in this simple act of love.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In a world seemingly filled with hatred, where you can be anything, be a Mr. Rogers.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
(copied from Debbie Joseph’s Facebook page)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#loveoneanother #beagoodneighbor #standup #speakup #showup #speakLord #iamlistening #blackoutweek

“Peace, bringing it all to peace. The storm surrounding me, let it break at Your name.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Still, call the sea to still, the rage in me to still – every wave at Your name ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear.
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Breathe, then call these bones to live, call these lungs to sing – once again, I will praise.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear. Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Your name is a light that the shadows can’t deny.Your name cannot be overcome. Your name is alive forever lifted high, Your name cannot be overcome!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
TREMBLE by Amanda Cook
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#hopefortheharddays

Some days can be filled with discomfort or pain.

Today may be both National Go Barefoot & Nail Polish Days, but my feet are a mess.

Several blisters over sunburn on the tops of both feet have taken 4 days to see less swelling and experience less pain.

Some roads we walk are not comfortable, are they?

Hearing how friends who moved have had all their belongings stolen while they were in transit, local businesses still not able to open due to Covid-19, loved ones dying or seriously ill, and racial tensions escalating due to another avoidable and oh so lamentably wrong death which demands justice and equality…. These are just a few many of us are grappling with.

I turn to the Psalms and Gospels when I hear of news like these.

For God is not far off and sitting indifferent to our pain and suffering, friend. Jesus welcomed those who were treated differently due to their sex, their beliefs, their race, their illnesses, their jobs, even their offenses. He walked among them then, ministered to each, and He is willing to move within, restore and walking with each of us in this now.

This morning as I was pondering these things in prayer, these potted plants outside my local coffee shop caught my eye, and reminded me of this important truth…

There is new growth coming out of this season, friend. Especially for those who are listening for His voice and following His lead, no matter how we might be physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually limping along.

#Mayday #Monday #hopefortheharddays