“I Will Be The Place Where Need Is Met with Love and Compassion”
If Trump does no other good, we must acknowledge that the reality of his presidency has awakened a slumbering nation. Many finally realize that we can no longer resist in silence and leave the fate of our nation in the hands of elected officials, many of whom for too long have served their own political interests and agendas and have paid attention to their constituents only when it was time to collect votes.
“I Speak for the Trees Too.”
I am particularly proud of the way one of my nieces, Tiffany, has “awakened” and is [re]claiming her voice. She has been wearing out her boots marching and standing up for human rights and against oppression since the day Trump took office. On that “fateful” day, she responded to her peers who claimed to be taking a social media hiatus to avoid the political talk and conversations. In a post that I’m sure set their teeth on edge she called them out of their stupor and demanded that they finally see her and her struggle as a Black woman.
I’m glad that many of you can take a social media hiatus, avoid Facebook for the day and disengage from political conversations. I’m glad that you can “take a break” from all of the hate and negativity that you feel you are seeing. I don’t have that luxury.
I cannot take off my skin.
I cannot un-know what it feels like to have white men tell me that they’ve “never had a black girl suck their d*** before.”
I cannot go back and ask all the things I wanted to know in science classes dominated by men who made me feel inferior, insignificant and ignored.
I cannot forget the fear of being followed and harassed for miles on the highway and being spoken to in demeaning ways by men in grocery stores who thought that they had every right to behave that way.
I will march and I will raise my voice. I will face fear and the pain of the things that have shaped my heart and kept me silent and left me afraid. I will not ignore and turn my back to hate. I will look hate directly in the eye and say, “no more.”
Brokenness mends best out in the daylight, and I will no longer hide in the shadows.
Tiffany marched again this weekend, this time in the 11th Annual Moral March in Raleigh, North Carolina, coordinated by the NC NAACP. “Big” sister Erin–one year older–who is also socially conscious, marched with her. They were interviewed by WRAL News.
With Erin at the Moral March in Raleigh, North Carolina–being interviewed by WRAL
Tiffany is about more than the march. She realizes real change takes more than getting her boots dirty. While there are things happening in the political arena that we can’t ignore, there are crises in people’s personal lives that need immediate attention, so she’s doing what she can to make life better for others. This year she’s participating in the Make-a-Wish Trailblaze Challenge to “raise funds and grant wishes for children with life threatening medical conditions.” It is her goal to “enrich their lives with hope, strength, and joy.”
Travel and Protest: In the airport standing up for immigrants and against the travel ban.
Thank you for coming out of the shadows, Tiffany. The world needs you!
March on…
Pics and Posts 
Thank you for sharing Tiffany’s words. I appreciate her voice and her passion. The world does need to listen to Tiffany, and it needs her aunt, who wrote this post that is so full of love for Tiffany.
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Thank you, Alice, for dropping by and for your kind words. I will certainly pass them on to Tiffany.
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Blessings and best wishes to Tiffany. God keep her safe 🙂
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Yes. Thank you!
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Give a big hug to Tiffany. She is a champion and I hope she can continue with her actions. We will Stand Tall with her. Your post is so too the point. We all need to be vigilant so that our civil rights will not disappear. I’m sending postcards (another good use for postcards!) and emails to my reps about issues that concern me.I agree, trump has re-awakened civic actions.
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I’ll be sure to give her a big hug for you! Vigilance is key. I like the idea of sending postcards to representatives.
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This made me smile. I hate that the younger generation still needs to fight, but knowing there are smart women out there leading the way? I hope everyone can carry this energy into the 2018 elections.
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Me too! I hope we haven’t worn ourselves out by then! There’s so much to resist!
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wow, your niece sounds like an amazing young woman!
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She is and I’m so proud of her! Thank you for dropping by!
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