Date: January 18th, 2021
*originally going to be a post but it was too long so here we are*
*enjoy :3*
~~~

Sup!!

Happy Martin Luther King jr. Day everyone!! :D

I decided to make this week's Mondays Matter based around this holiday because...yeah for obvious reasons.

If you've been living under a metaphorical rock (or a literal one...) and don't know anything about Martin, here's the basics:

Martin Luther King Jr. played one of the biggest roles in the Civil Rights Movement. He fought along side his black brothers and sisters non-violently in the hopes of finally having the freedom that they deserved.

They were fighting for themselves and they were fighting for their children's future.

And he made amazing progress...and he would have made even more if he wasn't assassinated on April 4th, 1968.

His voice had grown "too powerful" for those closed minded white people to handle...so they silenced it.

White supremacists and racists all throughout history have silenced him and many others who had a strong voice in the never ending movement for black freedom.

Malcolm X, Abraham Lincoln, George W. Lee, and so. many. more. There's a whole Wikipedia page listing only a few people who were killed in this movement.

So..what does this day mean to me?

As a young black person, this day is a day to remember one of my community's greatest heroes...but this year it is also a reminder that we aren't where we need to be, but we're sure as heck better than where we were. And we're getting there.

And it's also a reminder that I am incredibly blessed.

It used to be a crime for people like me to walk down certain streets, eat in certain places, sit in certain seats, talk to certain people, vote, wear certain clothes, go to certain schools, or just straight up exist.

But I am blessed to be able to eat at any restaurant I want, be able to sit wherever I want on the bus, hang out with my friends of different color out in public, shop wherever I want, and get a great education so I can make something of myself.

Sometimes I take it for granted how blessed I actually am.

Now don't get me wrong...there are times when me and my people are hesitant to go certain places and do certain things (My mom sometimes is hesitant to let me and my brother go places because it could be dangerous for us)...but at least we can do them.

And we will always be pushing for equality to be able to do these normal things without fear of something happening to us.

Because we cannot be silenced.

If you've made it this far in this post..thank you XD. Hopefully this makes sense because I was just word vomiting whatever came to my heart. There are too many things I want to say that I can't fit here ;-;

Oh as for the advice, they will come from people other than me this week :3

✨ Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ✨ ~ Martin Luther King jr.

✨ You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. ✨ ~ Malcolm X

✨ Wrongs will be righted if we're united ✨ ~ Newsies Original Broadway Cast (sorry, they're not black at all but man is that powerful)

✨ We don't ask you to believe in our ability to bring change, rather, we ask you to believe in yours. ✨ ~ Barack Obama

✨ Why can't I just eat my waffle? ✨ ~ also Barack Obama

That last one was for funsies :3

Stand up, speak up, bless up, and stay strong
~ Rae ✨❤️✊🏾