THEY TRIED TO BURY US. THEY DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE SEEDS - BLACK LIVES MATTER

I'm telling these tears, go and fall away, fall away; May the last one burn into flames...- Freedom, Beyonce 

Whew, it has been rough, I mean increasingly ROUGH in these streets for my people! There is not a day that I turn on the TV that I am not let down by the people of this world. And it's just continuing to worsen. EVERYDAY. It's not like it's something new - it's extremely unfortunate that as a black woman, I have to continuously worry about those I love on a daily basis with daily practices that a lot take for granted. Will my husband make it to and from work? Will my now adult son make it from point A to point B and back again safe? Will my daughter and I be cornered while running errands? These questions are ENGRAINED in my pysche and forever will be just for existing as a black individual!

There have been countless black citizens dying for NO reason, the list is DISGUSTINGLY long!  I can't even express my feelings anymore other than exhausted, unsettled, nervous, over-protective, disappointed, just plain SCARED.  I find myself unconsciously telling my family whenever they leave to be extra careful and make sure they can access their phone/phone camera - why do I need to make sure that they can access their phone camera?  Because in the back of my mind, I don't want them to end up as a hashtag.

George Floyd - allegedly trying to use a conterfeit $20 bill | Breonna Taylor - sleeping in her home | Atatiana Jefferson - at her home, killed in front of her nephew | Aura Rosser - at home and wouldn't drop a knife | Stephon Clark - standing in his grandmother's yard holding a phone | Botham Jean - killed in his home by a cop who thought she was entering her home | Philando Castille - traffic stop, killed in front of his girlfriend and 4 year old baby girl | Alton Sterling - selling Cd's and DVD's, tasered and shot 6 times | Michelle Cusseau - while serving a court ordered transport to a mental health facility, cops killed her in her home | Freddie Gray - died 45 minutes after being placed in a police van without a seatbelt, his spinal cord almost severed and his hands/feet shackled as he was tossed around in the vehicle | Janisha Fonville - another mental health situation where an officer killed her | Eric Garner - allegedly selling loosies (loose cigarettes) | Akai Gurley - walking down stairs in his own building, cops entered an unlit stairwell and fired.  A bullet bounced off of the wall killing Gurley | Gabriella Nevarez - killed when her car hit a police car when asked to pull over

Tamir Rice - playing with a toy gun in a park | Michael Brown - walking with his friend | Tanisha Anderson - diagnosed as bipolar, her family called 911 because she was trying to leave her home | Ahmaud Arbery - killed by racist ex-cop and son while jogging | Terence Crutcher - intoxicated, left car in the middle of the street because he "thought it was going to blow up"; police shot and killed him | Oscar Grant - pulled off of a train and killed by police | Bettie Jones - struck by a stray officers bullet | Trayvon Martin - killed by George Zimmerman because he couldn't mind his F*CK*NG business | Laquan McDonald - shot 16 times by police | Jamel Floyd - dies in police custody in a detention center in Brooklyn | Ezell Ford - diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, killed by police during an "investigative stop" while with a friend | Eric Harris - trying to sell guns, killed by officer | Mya Hall - allegedly crashed into a NSA guard post | Sandra Bland -  apprehended during traffic stop, found hanged in jail (this is being covered up as a suicide)... EXHAUSTING, because there are SO MANY MORE NAMES that can be added to this list!!

Ten Hail Marys, I meditate for practice

Channel nine news tell me I'm movin' backwards

Eight blocks left, death is around the corner

Seven misleadin' statements 'bout my persona

Six headlights wavin' in my direction

Five-o askin' me what's in my possession

Yeah I keep runnin', jump in the aqueducts

Fire hydrants and hazardous

Smoke alarms on the back of us

But mama don't cry for me, ride for me

Try for me, live for me

Breathe for me, sing for me

Honestly guidin' me

I could be more than I gotta be

Stole from me, lied to me, nation hypocrisy

Code on me, drive on me

Wicked, my spirit inspired me

Like yeah, open correctional gates in higher desert

Yeah, open our mind as we cast away oppression

Yeah, open the streets and watch our beliefs

And when they carve my name inside the concrete

I pray it forever reads...

In Detroit's Eastern Market, there are murals everywhere - it's so refreshingly beautiful! Dinos Christianopoulos, a Greek writer and poet, words were gracefully displayed in this mural by Brandan Odums (@bmike2c) and Rick Williams (@rickwlms). I feel it speaks to a lot of what's happening with racial and social injustices in the world and how we won't back down so easily this time. It's BEYOND time for us ALL to be treated equally and I can only pray that I am able to see this in my lifetime, for the next generations sake!

linking with these beauties this week!