“To say that black lives matter is very powerful. The only time I heard that my life mattered was from my own family. It didn’t come from society. No one cared how this little black girl got to school, except for the prostitutes my Mother paid to make sure we got on and off the bus okay.”
Black Lives Matter is a human rights movement seeking racial, social and economic justice for people of color all over the world. Some try to argue that “all lives matter.” To better understand the power of and need for this movement, listen to this remarkable woman’s story sharing her truth. She is calling people in, not calling people out.
Growing up in a Washington, D.C. ghetto in the 1990s, she was raised by her poor, working-class family. Because of her own drive and the strength of her single mother and grandmother, she went to college and earned three degrees. Today, this inspiring woman is happily married with two kids, working as a psychotherapist and mentor helping single mothers in Washington, D.C. make a better life for themselves and their children. These families mirror the family she grew up in. She is going back and taking her life full circle, helping other people see an alternative – because their lives matter!
“Yes, everyone’s life does matter. But for marginalized communities who have a history of being underprivileged and ignored, it’s important to show them that their lives matter. And to have people really stand up for them and say: YOU MATTER. [For many], it’s the first time they ever really heard that, believed it and saw the action behind it. IT’S A VERY POWERFUL MOVEMENT.”
