W E L C O M E.

For those of you who are feeling afraid because of where our country is headed, welcome to the club.

(This is my one rant. Just for the record.)

Those feelings you have are the same that so many minorities have felt in this country for decades, maybe even centuries. The anger you are feeling is what fueled eras like the Abolitionist Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement, the Chicano Movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the LGTBQ+ Rights Movement....

you get the point, right?

We have been fighting for so long. What you are seeing now is the blinds of privilege being lifted, leaving you vulnerable and exposed.

Welcome.To.The.Club.

Unfortunately, what you feel is still only a fraction of the pain that we, as the disenfranchised, have been feeling all along. For us, it is heightened. I know I personally feel uncomfortable and on high alert walking across my Predominantly White Institution . I find myself looking at people thinking, are they racist? Do they see me as a threat? Do they see me as a target? Do they see me as a problem?

My black skin is crawling.

What really sucks is that this would be our opportunity to help everyone see this, but clearly there's a majority of this country who are totally cool with sending my gay friends to conversion therapy, sending all the immigrants "back" to Mexico, taking women's control over their bodies from them, marginalizing racial minorities to continue the cycle of poverty and inhibit any chance of breaking down that image....

newsflash: not.all.minorities.are.pooruneducatedunemployeddeadbeatparents.
newsflash: you.cant.pray.the.gay.away. You can't shock it away either.
newsflash: planned.parenthood.does.more.than.just.abortions.
newsflash: look.up.the.definition.of.NATIVE. Caucasians are immigrants too.
newsflash: not.all.immigrants.are.Mexican. In fact, most aren't.
newsflash: not.all.immigrants.are.undocumented.
newsflash: not.all.immigrants.are.rapistdrugdealingmurderers.
newsflash: not.all.documented.citizens.are.good.

newsflash: It's 2016.
newsflash: your labels will not limit us.


So here's the thing. Our fight is not over. It never stopped. You are welcome to join us in an effort to bring about some overdue change.

Just leave your privilege at the door.

If there is one thing I've gathered from how our society has already started to change, it's that our forces must be stronger than ever.
So keep fighting. Don't put your head down. Don't sit back and take it. If someone's acting ignorant or disrespectful, put them in their place. Call them out. Expose their privilege. Let them know why they're wrong. Have the conversation. Don't suppress it anymore. Don't worry about hurt feelings or losing friends. The ones worth keeping will support your cause.

Speak up. Stay strong.

I am hopeful that the fear will end. I am hopeful that the pain will end. When that happens, when the clouds finally part, things will be better. Just fight until we can get there.