My Thoughts & Organizations To Support

My Thoughts & Organizations To Support Black Community

So before we begin, I’m just letting you know this post is just spilling my thoughts. I don’t have solutions. I’m not those bloggers that will teach you how to be an ally because I’m still continuing to learn. It may seem like I’m rambling, but there’s so much running through my head. If I’m being honest, I’m not quite sure if I’m conveying my thoughts and feelings accurately. So if anything I mentioned has been taken the wrong way, I apologize and please let me know what I need to change and teach me.

I can’t just have a new post and talk about fashion, beauty, etc without addressing the recent events and my own thoughts. These past couple weeks have been heavy on me and I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. I was apalled and angry with the death of Ahmed Aubrey. Who in their right mind thinks it is okay to shoot a black man for no reason? And then the news shared about the death of Breonna Taylor. Again, my mind was like what? You shot the wrong person, and what, 8 times? How is this right? And then the video of George Floyd was released and I was disgusted. How can a human being do such harm to another human being? How can someone justify these deaths?

It hurts because these people did not deserve it.

And it is not fair at all because no one should ever suffer and fear for their lives because they’re black or brown. I’m considered a minority and people of color (POC), and I have my own experience of racism and injustice. But I also know I can’t compare with what black people go through and thus I can only empathize to a certain degree.

One thing I feel certain about is that racism still exists.

And I question when racism will ever disappear. It’s unfortunate that these recent deaths and brutality is what it takes to finally get people to realize racism is real. Part of me is thinking to myself, well good people are getting it. And part of me is like this is sad that people dying is the way to get the world to wake up. Like I said, my thoughts are everywhere and I don’t have the solution.

I also know I have to be better as well. I’m not perfect, I have flaws, and I need to educate myself. Just because I know what it’s like for someone to judge me by the color of my skin does not mean I know how to be better than everyone else. There’s room to learn.

I’m part of an organization for Asian Americans and someone brought up a really good point. As Asians, more than ever we should support our black friends and black community.  We know what it’s like to be judged  and so we should be allies for the black community. The black community has shown support for the Asian community. And more than ever, I need to do a better job showing my support.

One thing I know for sure and feel strongly about is that it 100% starts in your home.

I have to give praise to my parents for talking about race with me at young age. We talked about ethnicity and they showed me and pointed out different ethnicities to me.

And I’m so grateful to have went to a diverse school when I lived in the city before my parents moved us to the suburbs. My all time favorite teacher was Mrs. Patrick. I was 4 years old and she taught me about Martin Luther King Jr. Mrs. Patrick is a black woman and felt very passionate about equal rights for black people. Until this day I still remember the song she taught us about Martin Luther King Jr. “Martin Luther King needs pe-eace. Martin Luther King needs f-r-ee-dom” Haha that’s a small tidbit of it but it really helped! So I totally agree that racism should be talked about in school at an early age. And I hope moving forward many young kids have this experience.

There are so many things out there now on how to help. I totally agree that we all should do more than just posting on social media. We can donate, support local black business, and let us be part of the solution so that there is change.

I also want to make it clear that I don’t think all cops are bad, not all white people are racists. I truly think ignorance comes in all colors.

Organizations To Support & Donate

Today, I’m going to share a few organizations to donate to. However, feel free to donate to any organization you feel strongly about. In my next few blog posts, I will share fashion brands to support that are owned by black men and women and books written by black men and/or women.

• Color Of Change
• George Floyd Memorial Fund
• Justice for Breonna
• Run With Maud
• My Block My Hood My City
• Black Lives Matter
• ACLU
• Reclaim The Block
• Black Visions Collective
• Minnesota Freedom Fund
• The Innocent Project
• Chicago Birthworks Collective

Thanks to my husband, family, and friends for having an open dialogue with me about this matter. And special thanks to my black friends and followers for educating me on this matter.

xo RD