I am a proud woman of colour

I am and have always been a proud woman of colour

If you've ever had more than a casual conversation with me, you know how I identify, you know where I stand, and you know what I'm passionate about..

I have personally experienced bigotry, prejudice and racism throughout my life, in every part of the country, in public and in private, in the form of micro-aggressions all the way to racial/xenophobic/Islamaphobic slurs being screamed in my face.
I’ve witnessed & experienced it from the ‘good’ and ‘woke’ white people, to Confederate-flag-waving racists and everything in between.
I’ve had folks call me their ‘best friend’ when it benefits them and then turn around and weaponize my shared experiences as a woman of color against me when it gets a little too uncomfortable.
And all of this just barely scratches the surface.

And above all: I *know* that NONE of my own experiences and the experience of any non-black POC can compare to what it’s like to be black in this country.
This isn’t something that only dawned on me last week or last month or last year.
I know enough to know it's not about ME.

I will continue to know better, do better, be better every single day.
Not just on social media, when it’s a ‘trending' hashtag.
Not just talking about it to other people who agree with me.
In every single conversation, in every interaction, in every dollar I spend, in every action I take I am working to dismantle the systems of white supremacy that exist everywhere in this country.
Within myself, within my relationships, within my community, within my industry…

Black lives matter.
Black lives have always mattered.
Black lives will continue to matter after white folx start to return to their ’normal’ content this week (whatever that means?)