20th of March, 2022. It’s been 736 days since Breonna Taylor was killed by the LMPD & Brett Hankinson, Jonathan Mattingly & Miles Cosgrove haven’t faced charges or been arrested for her death.
On Monday night, Adam and I went to a peaceful protest in our town in support of the BLM movement. It was my first time at anything like that. I was really scared to go, but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t. There were people who opposed us, holding up a Trump flag and yelling “F*** black lives” but the police in our town were on our side and supported our protest. There was no violence. I’m extremely thankful to live where I do, even in other towns in my state there has been violence and just bad natured people. I’m disappointed in the behavior of some of my peers and I fully expect to lose followers for posting this, but this is something I believe in and frankly if you unfollow because I support the BLM movement then I can’t say you’ll be missed. I’ve seen others say this and I believe in rings true for me as well: I understand that I’ll never truly understand, but I stand with you. We aren’t really united until everyone is treated equally.
As a studyblr, my content has always been quite inwards facing. I post my studying, cafes, maybe some music that I listen to whilst I study. Sometimes I reblog aesthetic academia posts and other studying-adjacent posts. My content has always been about myself, and my studies. I don’t veer from that theme of content.
However I am going to become a lawyer, and studying law has been one of the most transformative processes of my academic life. But the central tenet I have learnt is that the law only works if everyone is treated the same way under it.Equality under the law only works if those who enforce it treat people equally also. This is it just from a legalistic standpoint. This isn’t even from the human rights perspective, the socio-economic perspective, the racial perspective, the cultural perspective, the political perspective.
I am white and I am middle class. I am privileged. I knew racism still existed, still took the lives of millions, but my privilege enabled me to forget about it on a day-to-day basis. The events of the last week have put this privilege into perspective. I am committed to forget about it no longer.
So, I’m going to do what I do best. I am going to study. I am going to learn everything and I am going to use my legal knowledge to do something about it.
If anything I have said offends you, please unfollow. You are not interested in education or the law, just aesthetic pictures of pens.
So, I posted these pictures on Facebook last month. I used it as a sort of means to compare the protests for Black Lives Matter and the Prince of Peace losing his shit.
The comparison being the riots. Burning businesses as a result of Black individuals being murdered unjustified. Jesus, out of disgust for the profits being made in his Father’s house, destroyed shops and dumped their monies everywhere. He also made a whip and chased people around.
Anyhow. I was surprised to find how much resistance I got from the comparison. I felt it was a decent comparison. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, violent and destructive over the profits made on holy grounds. And the violence and destruction as a result of the alarming number of Black individuals being publicly executed, found chopped up, lynched, missing, etc.
I dunno. Maybe I am a shitty person for making the comparison. It just took me by surprise (not really) how aggressive/defensive/closed off some Christians can be. Honestly don’t mind being educated or constructive criticism, but the attacks were a bit ridiculous.
Just some of the titles I’ve read recently by black authors that I found incredibly informative and moving. I have studied (and personally love) the work of Jesmyn Ward, and also recommend Citizen by Claudia Rankine (not pictured above). Citizen is a great text that looks at microaggression and the experiences of black people witthin the United States through poetry. I also recently ordered ‘The New Jim Crow’ by Michelle Alexander and am constantly working to educate and inform myself of both my own privelige and the racism that persists in today’s society - so if you have any other book recommendations, please leave them in the comments! Let’s work together to share resources, books and knowledge to educate ourselves to try and resolve this problem, because Black Lives Matter.
“I plan to stand by nonviolence because I have found it to be a philosophy of life that regulates not only my dealings in the struggle for racial justice, but also my dealings with people, and with my own self.” - Martin Luther King Jr ✊✊✊✊✊✊ . (A picture I saw online…)
This is no time to be silent. Let’s love, let’s be empathetic, let’s be genuine and let’s speak up! Do not be moved by emotion but by CONVICTION. This is an important matter and should not ever be ignored. ✊✊✊✊✊✊
racism does not start and stop with celebrities. they can not dismantle anything with “their platforms.” it starts and stops with you. in your life. your individual choice to educate yourself, to check your microaggressions, your preconceived notions, your internalized and subconscious racism and your duty to check others when they are being racist.
our momentum is slowing down. we can’t let our dashes go back to normal when the world is not normal. so, if you are reading this, you are ~legally~ obligated to choose 2 numbers below; you must complete the task of those two numbers today. don’t pretend you didn’t see this. either do them right now or set a reminder to get it done before the sun goes down. the timer starts now. choose two.
sign some petitions.LINK HERE. if change.org hasn’t accused you of being a bot yet, you haven’t signed enough.
watch this youtube video.LINK HERE. do not skip the ads. this is a way to help raise money without having to donate any.
sign up to get daily actions.LINK HERE. after filling out the form, you will receive texts Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays telling you what action to take. (i got this link from @ wp4bl on instagram)
text or call for any of these victims. LINK HERE. this website is extremely helpful, well organized, and practically does all of the work for you.
donate some money.LINK HERE. if you have any more money to spare, please donate it to one of these funds.
follow every single one of these organizations on social media: blcklivesmatter, colorofchange, reclaimtheblock, showingupforracialjustice, and civilrightsorg
post these important sources to your social media.LINK HERE. you have no idea who it might help.
read this article and forward it to at least one person. LINK HERE.
watch this video explaining the racial wealth gap. LINK HERE. it’s really informative and only about 15 minutes long.
do some reading.LINK HERE. this link has a ton of great resources to educate yourself. read at least one.
im going to be offering pay what you wish tarot and oracle readings in order to add to my personal donations to protest and bailout funds
my following isn’t large, and i’m a new reader, but this is a small thing i can do to contribute so if youd like a reading, just donate any amount to the Ko-Fi ive set up, https://ko-fi.com/nosilencestandup and send me an ask or DM regarding what kind of reading you would like
Note: I do not read for questions that would be better answered by a professional.(Legal, medical, financial, etc.) Nor do I accept 3rd party questions. I reserve the right to deny any question.(But will absolutely work to find a question i am comfortable reading about for you.)
If any larger blogs see this and would be able to boost I’d appreciate it greatly!
Sorry guys, not as much witchy related today, but civil rights related. All of the people talking in this post are from our community. If you know me, they really go hand in hand. Spread this post far and wide, and if you live in Minneapolis get pictures of what’s going on.
This is from a friend who lives in Minneapolis, to me, at 5am this morning in a discord server we’re part of. The first post is from a Minneapolis resident, the second is my reply and then another Minneapolis resident replying to me. The KKK is actively marching around Minneapolis wearing the whole get up and planting explosives and gasoline, and the news IS NOT COVERING THIS. WHY? I’ve made this post public, share it, screenshot it, spread the word since the news won’t cover it.
I realized that i hadn’t had the chance to post much in support of the black lives matter because I’ve been on some of the front line protests and have been dealing with a lot recently but i’m going to try and blog more about it. Here’s somethings i’m urging people to do:
If you are able to, get on the front lines or support those who are by donating first aid supplies, food, water, and masks directly to the protesters
Educate yourself, read books and article on how to acknowledge and deconstruct racism and about black history. Here’s a list of books to check out
Watch shows or movies created by black artists, some streaming sites are putting together lists of content that they have by black creators
Take care of yourself and your communities, build strong support networks that you can rely on instead of calling the police. Here’s a copy of a zine I’ve been seeing passed around at protests called “12 things to do instead of calling the cops”
This is by no means a complete list of things you can do, do research of your own of ways that you can support the movement. Be critical and mindful of your actions and be open to confronting your own biases that you may not even realize you have. Stay safe and keep fighting.
