Junteenth Represents Freedom

Written By: Rebecca Leandre, Ashley Martin, and Roudjessie Charles

We are only six months into 2020 and we’re currently going through a pandemic, murder hornets, protests, riots, etc. Every day that we step outside in masks, it feels like a movie. But this is our current reality. The injustices endured by black people for 400 years and counting came to a boiling point over the recent tragic public lynching of George Floyd. His death follows Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others existing while black. As a result of such built-up rage, protests unfolded but with a mix of violent officers and opportunists, many peaceful protests quickly turned to riots. The methods may be questionable but policy changes are being made as people rally all over the world.

This year we’ll be canceling July 4th and celebrating Juneteenth, short for June 19th. Juneteenth is the day we symbolize the freedom of Black people in America. On June 19, 1865, the last enslaved people in the south received word from the US Army that they were finally granted freedom under the emancipation proclamation. The emancipation proclamation was issued on January 1st, 1863 making all enslaved people free but it wasn’t until 2 years later that all slaves would officially be free.

Juneteenth is a monumental day of celebration and education, as individuals stand in solidarity with the Black community while becoming aware of our history. Individuals can celebrate by gathering with friends and loved ones, dressing in garments that positively represent our ancestors, and watching or reading content that continues to educate on Black issues.

Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities. Take this time during Juneteenth to reflect on our accomplishments as well as our struggles. We’ll have a lot more people celebrating this year and as always, we welcome them with open arms.

Our continued commitment to liberation for all Black people means we are continuing the work of our ancestors and fighting for our collective freedom because it is our duty. Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside comrades, allies, and family, for a culture where each person feels seen, heard and supported.

Social media has proven its usefulness during these times as there are pages providing uncensored news, information on local protests, and ways to be an ally as a non-person of color.

Here are some helpful Instagram accounts to follow: Blacklivesmatters, NourishNYC, Blkfolxtherapy, Naacp, and Colorofchange

Netflix has also made it possible for individuals to further their knowledge on the Black experience by highlighting some important films like When They See Us, The Hate You Give, The Help, Moonlight, Orange is the New Black, and many more.

Below are some Black-owned restaurants to support in Brooklyn and the rest of the City. You can also find these restaurants on the black-owned app Eatokra, which helps you find Black-owned restaurants all across the city.

Brooklyn Based Black Owned Businesses

• Sugarcane

• Soco

• Milk river

• Negril Bk

• Footprints

• Peppas

• Action Burger

• Suede

• BK9

• Kreyol Flavor

• Taste of the City

  New York Based Black Owned Businesses

• Kingston - Harlem

• Ginjan

• Cove lounge

• Blossom Restaurant - Manhattan

• Percys jerk Hut - Queens

• Queens Bully

• Country Life Jerk

• Ponty Bistro

• Shrine

• Amy Ruths

• Sugar Hill Creamery
  

  Visit these sites for more information

  https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/

  https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm

Learning All About the Trans Experience!

Some people may ask what a transgender is, why someone may want to come out as transgender, how to tell if someone is transgender, and more. In this blog, you will be learning a little more about the transgender community.

When a man or woman identifies as transgender it means that they identify as the opposite gender they were assigned to at birth. People who identify as transgender say that they were assigned a gender that is not true to who they are. Also for some transgender identified people, they do not want to fit into the category of male or female. They feel that those two genders do not fit them. In Latin the word “trans” means cross, meaning that transgender is another way of saying cross gender.

Coming out as transgender may be hard for some people. Some people may not want to come out as transgender because they think they might lose close friends, family members, and more things that mean a lot to them. Also they might not want to come out because they feel they would be bullied, thought of as weird, and they think that people will discriminate them.

Some of many ways that a person can come out as transgender is by knowing the person you are going to come out too, inform yourself about transgender people and or do research, being confident when coming out to someone, having patience during the process, and even reaching out to an LGBTQ hotline for advice. You should know the person you are coming out too because you have to have a person that you can trust with the information you are giving them. Being confident when you come out shows another person that it does not matter what people say you are who you are. Having patience when coming out is important because people may say ignorant things and you have to be ready for it. One LGBTQ hotline that can be called is “The Trevor Project” @ 866-488-7386.

Thanks for visiting this blog come back in two more weeks to find out more terms from the LGBTTQQIAAP !!

For more about transgender people click this link:

Video About the Trans Experience!

I’m Not Your Jezebel!

I’M HUMAN. 

I’M NOT YOUR JEZEBEL!

I’M NOT YOUR PROPERTY!

I’M NOT MEANT TO BE OWNED!

I’M NOT HERE FOR YOUR SATISFACTION!

I’M NOT HERE FOR YOUR APPROVAL!

I’M NOT YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE AT TWO A.M!

I’M HUMAN.

As a black woman, my positive attitude towards sex is always conflicting with the “Jezebel myth”. I’m expected to say “yes”to anything involving sex.

SEX. SEX. SEX.

It’s all that seems to roll off the tongues of a culture built on the exploitation, degradation and subjugation of individuals who don’t fit the socially constructed image of white Anglo-Saxon males and women.

Its ok to say “no”, its ok to say “yes”. You are HUMAN. You are not someones property, you are not owned, you are not their to satisfy anyone’s needs, you do not need someone else’s seal of approval. You got your own! And lastly you are no one’s guilty pleasure at 2 A.M. when they cannot find the bright orange cantaloupe they so badly would like to dig their fingers into. You are not a piece of fruit meat to be scraped out and tossed away.

A Little Clarity, A Little Sanity

Written by Wislande Francisque

Everyone wished they knew the consequences to their action before they made them. You can only hope for the best. Before judging, reprimanding, shaming someone for aborting a baby let’s examine the situation. As much as we want this world to be judgement free, realistically it isn’t. Therefore, let’s realistically analyze the possible scenarios without bypassing any details. One possible and mostly spoken about is rape. If a child is a product of rape, the mother may not want the relive that moment for the rest of her life. However both party’s are victims, some may wonder is eliminating one victim the solution to a better life for the other victim; perhaps, perhaps not. Another scenario may be that the mother is young or feels unfortunate and feels as though they won’t sufficiently provide for their child as they would’ve wanted to.

The question that most would ask is why even have sex, knowing that there is a possibility that a child would eventually come in the picture? There is no answer to this question. Its almost rhetorical because no one has the right to tell one what they should or shouldn’t be doing with their body. Lastly, suppose that someone just does not want the baby. They’d rather go to the extreme measures to get rid of the baby. Should they be called monsters for wanting something to do something so tragic? Perhaps, perhaps not. What I am getting to is that abortion is a choice made by the mother to be or not to be, not you, not the public, not the government, no one.

Let's Have A Baby!

By Nayancie Matthews

This is an old double standard dictated through in which men were rewarded for sexual prowess and women suffered a damaged reputation.

The world constantly silences and oppress women whether is be through a socially constructed gender identity or a genetically constructed sexual identity. This is an old double standard dictated through in which men were rewarded for sexual prowess and women suffered a damaged reputation. Most of all, if a relationship resulted in pregnancy, it was the woman who was left with the responsibility. This concept has been passed down through centuries. So when Texas decides to target women’s reproductive health through the Senate Bill 25 it comes as no surprise. The Senate Bill 25 allows doctors and care providers to without information regarding the fetus health condition. Therefore, if the doctor can detect that the fetus can possibly be born with a disability they do not have to disclose such sensitive information to you. One can only wonder who this bill is protecting, and/ or helping.

Women’s anatomical right should not have to be voted on by politicians, many of who couldn’t care less about women’s reproductive rights. Being a black woman I’ve seen many anti-abortion politician exploit black women to justify their points. PRENDA was a ludicrous, disingenuous bill that exploits stereotypes about black women to ban so called “race-selective” abortion. So when woman’s womb are seen by our patriarchal society as only a place for committing genocide and not bearing life and not acknowledging that it takes two to bring life into this world, it’s an issues. An even larger issues when looking at the fact that men’s reproductive rights are never put on the stand.

Pregnancy is a huge decision and  responsibility so when a women can not know the basic knowledge that a doctor could choose to withhold from her regarding her pregnancy it’s a huge problem. Nine percent of women suffer from post trauma depression after giving birth and  tends to rise with the more responsibility the woman encounters with the child. So withholding information that a woman can either use to prepare for a child or decide that she doesn’t want a child to suffer in this world with a disorder is completely up to her not the state.

Reproductive health is central to women’s liberation, to attain it one must address all the obstacles women face:  sexism, economic injustice, social stigma, violence, the list goes on. For women of color the list may include, but not limited to racism. We must treat women as whole, complex and unique human beings.