I always vote. Always. I do so because my ancestors sacrificed EVERYTHING in order for me to have the right to do so. Because we STILL have to march in the streets. Because people are being killed due to the color of their skin, who they choose to love, and for unapologetically living their lives in their own truth. Because, by the time my kids are old enough to vote, I want the odds of an openly proud racist, who cares more about crowd size (SAD) than the American people, to be an absolute zero. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The protests are making a difference. Speaking up is making a difference. Asking yourself the tough questions is making a difference. Remember that when you wonder if it's worth voting. Also remember the sound of Eric Garner's voice as he told the cops he couldn't breathe, the rasp of George Floyd as he called out for his mama, remember that seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin's murderer is, not only free, but proudly signed Skittles packages, and on and on and on and on and on. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ VOTE. ALWAYS. . . . . . . #IVoted #Vote #BlackLivesMatter #BLM #UseYourVoice #PowerAtThePolls

#Repost @whatisnewyork ・・・ Peaceful protestors and frontline healthcare workers applauding each other #whatisnewyork (@pix11news)

This is amazing! #Repost @naacp ・・・ No Matter how much you attempt to change course, all roads TO and FROM the White House in November go through the #BLACKVOTE! Thank you @mayor_bowser #WeAreDoneDying #BlackLivesMatter  #BlackVotesMatter

" If you care about me, then you need to speak up, because these people who hate me are loud." -Nina Parker 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you vote for someone who OPENLY hates me, my family, my friends, if you try to defend that cousin because his flag is 'history note hate, if you think that black joke your coworker told was hilarious and I should just chill, if you're posting things on your socials, but that's where your support ends...please don't pretend to care about me. #EnoughIsEnough ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ DONATE. READ. LEARN. USE YOUR VOICE. CALL OUT RACISM WHEN YOU SEE IT. DO...SOMETHING. #Repost @mzgossipgirl ・・・ Enough. #Blacklivesmatter✊🏾

Watching Terrence Floyd, George Floyd's brother, kneel and pray over the site where his brother was murdered, heartbreaking to see. The absolute silence of the crowd as they knelt with him, beautiful to see. And the moment he stood up and a man shouted, "What's his name?" and the crowd flooded his ears with George Floyd over and over again, so moving and overwhelming to see. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Floyd family is asking for peaceful protests and justice for his brother. For us to educate ourselves and vote. That's it. . . . . . . . #SayHisName #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter #BLM #NoJusticeNoPeace #KnowJusticeKnowPeace #ICantBreathe #PeaceOnTheLeft #JusticeOnTheRight #PeaceOnTheLeftJusticeOnTheRight #Vote

#Repost @barackobama ・・・ I want to share parts of the conversations I’ve had with friends over the past couple days about the footage of George Floyd dying face down on the street under the knee of a police officer in Minnesota.⁣ ⁣ The first is an email from a middle-aged African American businessman.⁣ ⁣ “Dude I gotta tell you the George Floyd incident in Minnesota hurt. I cried when I saw that video. It broke me down. The ‘knee on the neck’ is a metaphor for how the system so cavalierly holds black folks down, ignoring the cries for help. People don’t care. Truly tragic.”⁣ ⁣ Another friend of mine used the powerful song that went viral from 12-year-old Keedron Bryant to describe the frustrations he was feeling.⁣ ⁣ The circumstances of my friend and Keedron may be different, but their anguish is the same. It’s shared by me and millions of others.⁣ ⁣ It’s natural to wish for life “to just get back to normal” as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly “normal” – whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.⁣ ⁣ This shouldn’t be “normal” in 2020 America. It can’t be “normal.” If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.⁣ ⁣ It will fall mainly on the officials of Minnesota to ensure that the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death are investigated thoroughly and that justice is ultimately done. But it falls on all of us, regardless of our race or station – including the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day – to work together to create a “new normal” in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.