Before I begin to write this blog, before I go any further, let me first say one thing:
Black Lives Matter.
Ignorance, selfishness and hate lead people to mock one of the largest Movements in United States history with phrases such as, “all lives matter,” “bar lives matter,” “blue lives matter.” There is a reason Black Lives Matter is one of, if not The Largest Movement in United States History. The history of slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration and systemic racism in our country teaches us that it is undeniable that no people in this country have been oppressed and held down as long and as hard as Black Americans. To say you are not politically active is no longer an excuse. This is not politics; this is basic human rights. Put yourself in the shoes of the oppressed, envision this Movement from a different perspective rather than your own. People are still fighting for basic “unalienable rights” that this country was supposedly built off--the Declaration of Independence reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” When I see a police officer’s knee on the neck of George Floyd and officers still walking free for the murder of Breonna Taylor, I see not life, nor liberty, nor happiness: I see hate, violence and injustice.
We all need to come together and fight for the equality of all, not the equality of some. It starts by speaking up. Addressing the problem, then attacking it. Racism has been a cornerstone of this country for hundreds of years and people have been too ignorant, too selfish, perhaps too scared of the role they play in perpetuating it, to acknowledge its presence in the fabric of our everyday lives. Our generation can bring real change moving forward. It starts with Hearing the Unheard and listening to the voices and actions of activists and leaders such as Harriet Tubman, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Colin Kaepernick, Bryan Stevenson and the list goes on, that have been spoken over and ignored for the last four hundred years. Our actions are effective and powerful, when we learn to speak up about prejudice not when it is easy, but when it is hard.
In June of 2020, More Than Different designed a T-shirt called Hear The Unheard, created to raise money for an organization called Campaign Zero, which is an organization leading research-based initiatives to end police brutality, specifically against black communities. The idea of the T-shirt is to have something that people can wear that they really stand for. People can wear their pride on their sleeve. Over a two-week span, we raised $2,200 and sold nearly 100 shirts. Since all our shirts are printed ourselves in our basement, we were put straight to work for three weeks fulfilling orders. This is a small step in protesting against the racism and oppression against black people across the US and the world. More Than Different moves on. We move on to listening, reading, educating ourselves so that we do our part and vote in change and vote out racism. At the same time, we speak up. We stand up. People can’t just love black culture and not stand up for it. This isn’t just black people’s fight, it is all of us fighting for all black people’s rights, fighting for THEIR equality, THEIR Life, THEIR Liberty and THEIR Pursuit of Happiness.
If You Didn’t Hear Then,
Listen Now…
I Unapologetically
Stand Up Against
Racism And Hate.
I Unapologetically
Stand Up For
Justice And Equality
I Am Unapologetically
More Than Different
It Is Time
To Hold Everyone
Accountable.
HEAR THE UNHEARD.
Black Lives Matter.
More Than Different