White Privilege And How it Can Be Used to Help the Black Community

In the wake of everything that is going in on the country right now, white privilege is at the helm of it. Everything from the death of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor to the calling of the police on members of the black community for simply bird watching, working out or going about their day-to-day business relate back to white privilege. Yes, we know all cops aren’t bad. Yes, we know all white people aren’t racist. But the thing we need white people to understand now more than ever is that whether they are racist or not, they have white privilege. Their skin tone does not warrant the level of fear for their lives that black people have had to deal with for far too long. Right now what we need is for white people to understand the white privilege, accept it, speak on it and use it to become allies to the black community so that change can be made. Now is not the time to be silent or mutual. Now is the time to take action and if you don’t know how to take action, learn, research, ask questions, etc. At this point it is not enough to simply not be racist, if you aren’t on the front line with the black community helping to make change and putting your white privilege to good use, you aren’t helping create change. If you question what white privilege has to do with all the recent events, look at Amy Cooper and how she deliberately lied on Christian Cooper when calling the cops and made sure to mention his race. Those actions could of led to the same thing that happened to George Floyd. In fact it did, back in the 50s with Emmett Till. This is the kind of harm white privilege does, especially if people like Amy Cooper are using it in the way they are and putting black people in even more danger than they are on the daily. Black people have been fighting for years, it’s time members of other communities join us. And for those that have, we see you and we thank you. But make sure to ask yourself how can I take it further than social media?

For those looking to learn more about white privilege and address the issue, check out girlupcampaign’s post on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Girl Up (@girlup)

Or theconsciouskid’s post

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAx4-8GpHvK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

What You Should Teach Your Children About Black Culture Ahead of Black History Month

With January quickly coming to an end, that can only mean one thing: Black History Month is approaching. Of course we celebrate our culture and our people year round, but February gives us a chance to really reflect and bask in our accomplishments a little more than usual. It’s also a good time to celebrate with your kids and teach them about our history as well as why February is an important month. Here are a list of things you should talk to your child about to prepare them for Black History Month:

1. Jim Crow laws
2. Ancestry
3. Important black leaders
4. The history of black artists/musicians/actors/authors, etc.
5. Black scientists
6. Slavery
7. The history of racism
8. Civil Rights Movement
9. The Black Panthers
10. Africa
11. HBCU’s
12. Black Lives Matters
13. Black Veterans
14. African Americans and politics
15. Juneteenth
16. Thurgood Marshall/Supreme Court Cases that helped African Americans secure rights

Know of any more things that are important to teach children about Black History? Share them below.

Why is Hair a Major Factor of Discrimination?

By now many people have heard about Kerion Washington, a teen who was rejected by for a job at a Six Flags in Texas due to his dreadlocks. Many people have also heard about the wrestler in New Jersey who was forced to cut his dreadlocks by the referee. There are many more instances of discrimination based on hairstyles in work, school, etc. for both men and women, but just these topics alone bring up a important discussion of why we are still be discriminated against for our choice of hairstyle in 2019.

Last week California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the CROWN Act officially making California the first state to ban discrimination in workplaces and schools based on hairstyles. While this is a good step towards insuring that people are protected against facing the same discrimination that Washington had to face; the fact that a law had to be passed in the first place is absurd. And what about African Americans in the other 49 states facing these same issues? But a law isn’t going to change judgement blacks feel of the pressure to conform.

One study shows that one in five black women feel pressured to straighten their hair even if the workplace didn’t require it. One choosing to straighten their hair is a something they should do because they want to not because they feel they’ll be more accepted or more likely to land a job. The thing is even if workplaces or schools can’t legally discriminate against someone because of their hair, it doesn’t mean that blacks will automatically feel safe, comfortable or without judgement because it’s been programmed in their brain from a young age whether it was from their own community or from encounters outside of the community.

That same study shows that white women typically viewed natural hair as less attractive and less professional than straight hair. It seems the damage has been done for many, but if the CROWN Act teaches us anything it’s that we must reverse the damage and push forward. There is no room to allow discrimination and how others feel about our hair to allow us to not feel worthy and feel the need to conform. We have to wear our hair the best way that we see fit for our individual selves whether that’s straight, natural, curly, or in between. We owe it to ourselves to be our truth selves because that’s when the magic happens.

If you’re in doubt of that just look at 17-year-old Washington, he refused to cut his dreads for Six Flags and now he’s being scouted by a top modeling agency.

 

Why Are Black Americans Not Respected?

Why are Black Americans not respected by other races? It can’t be our skin color because some of the other races & nationalities have the very same skin tone. So what can it be that causes Blacks to be the most dissed and least respected?