While talking to a neighbor outside, he noticed a sign we have in our yard. It is a popular sign that lists the things that "matter." It says "in this house we believe..." and one of the things we believe is that Black Lives Matter. He made a comment that "All lives matter," which led to a monologue from him about the police and how "they" want to abolish the police. The conversation left us sad and, honestly, angry, but reminded us that there is still so much work to do. My husband told him … [Read more...]
Coming Together for a Good Cause
I attended the ribbon cutting of the library equity collection and was impressed both by the contents of the collection and by the representation of groups that attended the ceremony. … [Read more...]
Black Lives Matter at GMS
My family lives in Western Howard County and our children attend Bushy Park and Glenelg High School. Last month, the signboard outside of Glenwood Middle School was vandalized. Before it was vandalized, it read "Black Lives Matter at GMS." After it was vandalized, it read "Lives Matter at GMS" with the "Black" spray painted over. In this part of the county, it was predictable and shameful. … [Read more...]
I felt hope…
I felt hope when the Black Lives Matter rally at the Mall was so well attended, organized, and well-received. My husband (age 68) and I (age 64) were afraid to attend due to Covid but I followed it closely on social media. To this day, I wish I had attended. I felt proud to live in HoCo! … [Read more...]
Don’t Miss the Message
While driving through a neighborhood yesterday I saw a hand made sign on the corner that said " BLACK LIVES MATTERS ", My first thought was that the sign was grammatically incorrect and then I realized that I was missing the message. This sign may be the most significant and most heartfelt one I've ever seen, It was hand made and a bit sloppy, weathered and leaning over. Similar to the lives it represents. It's had me thinking ever since I saw it. So much so, that I'm going to go back by and … [Read more...]
Love Thy Neighbor
I am African American. For the past year, we have been at home due to the pandemic. During this time, I have done a great deal of walking around the neighborhood with my daughters. I have noticed that at the beginning of the pandemic, people (white) were more neighborly and I started to get a sense that we were all in this together and after the Black Lives Matter movement, things were going in the right direction. As the year has gone on, I have watched my neighbors return to their old ways of … [Read more...]
Denying the Problem
"An elementary school in HCPSS had "Black Lives Matter" on their marquee and someone spray-painted over "Black" on Friday. This afternoon, HCPSS leadership (BoE and Superintendent) shared a press release denouncing it as a hate crime and standing in solidarity with BLM. The story doesn't end there. On the Facebook post from HCPSS sharing the press release, many people dismissed the vandalism and criticized the idea of the original message saying Black Lives Matter was a political statement … [Read more...]
Feeling Seen
[Name] and I serve on a local Howard County board together. She is Filipina and I am a Black woman. We are Facebook friends and I noticed how she was very vocal about her support of Black Lives Matter, and I appreciated that. I felt seen. When the Anti-Asian hate was making the news, I reached out to her and showed my support. We have since grown deeper in our friendship and sisterhood. … [Read more...]
Youth-led Antiracism March
Participating in the June 2020 youth-led antiracism march following the murder of George Floyd gave me hope for improving race relations in Howard County. Seeing so many people of many races and backgrounds coming together in a common humanity and in protest against police brutality was an important step in affirming the desire for justice, motivating change and finding solutions. … [Read more...]
AAPI
Stop AAPI hate rally After the horrific incidents of AAPI hate around the country and in Howard County, I was heartened by the way a range of groups, representing a wide set of racial and religious communities, came together quickly to organize a rally to be in solidarity with the AAPI community here. This action reminded me of how Howard County came together in response to Black Lives Matter, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and other events. In all of those incidents, I felt a greater … [Read more...]
