“A rising tide lifts all ships if we’re collectively linked together.”

Written in October 2017, roughly 6 months upon the founding of Melanin MeetUps, our founder Kirk Brown expressed the color line of America being activated and unraveling real time upon the FBI’s declaration of black identity extremism a threat to American society. Given the recent killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia; as well as the events of Covid-19, and the unprecedented situation the country faces along with black and brown communities being heavily impacted by the pandemic — we couldn’t help but find parallels addressed 3 years ago that are incredibly relevant today. We hope you gain perspective as you read x The Narrative Staff

“One of the biggest challenges that we face as a people – is we’ve stopped seeing each other as people. We need to get back to when we saw each other as human beings,” states Alphonso David, President of Human Rights Campaign (HRC) - the largest LGBTQIA advocacy group and political lobbying organization in the United States.

“My dream one day would be to have a Black coffee conference...A couple of days like barista camp. And everyone’s hanging out and learning together. Not only learning about coffee but also learning about who we are and how we’re creating a space and identity for Black coffee [professionals].” Michelle Johnson, coffee connoisseur, and lifestyle blogger of The Chocolate Barista

“Folks who live the experience should be at the center of their story and the solutions to issues that impact their lives.” Twiggy Pucci Garçon, runway icon, activist and FX’s POSE choreographer

“People are so generally disconnected yet our stories are so similar, and that is frustrating for me as a policy maker who came in this work to help people.” Holly J. Mitchell, Senator for California’s 30th District

“Leaving LA was one of the best decisions of my young ass life. It was so important for me to explore myself and my relationship to Blackness in spaces that were historically and culturally Black.” - Asha Grant, Director of The Free Black Women’s Library LA Chapter

“Urban gardening to me is a form of meditation and art. Ritually taking care of plants helps keep me centered and at peace. Floral design is also one of my main creative outlets,” states Nelson ZePequeno, moderator of @blackmenwithgardens

“Spreading messages through clothing has been an outlet for designers and artists for a long time. I felt that with the current climate [socially and culturally] that people would be open minded enough to wear a shirt or hat with the word COLORED adorned on the front.” - Ashley Walker, CEO/Designer of Leimert Park Threads

“I was raised in a household that revered the beauty, suffering and triumph found in African and black art, history, music and literature. Black faces and bodies, embodied in paintings, sculptures and in books, by black artists and writers, adorned the walls and bookshelves of nearly every room in the house.”

The relationship between the open bodies of water and people of African descent is as interesting as the people who come from the continent.

Taking a knee to the flag is indicative of crossing the rubicon relative to questioning a “revered” artifact of America’s civic religion. Are we as a Community ready to cross it in a unified stance and all that it signifies?

Colorism has been ingrained in the ideologies of individuals within and outside of the Black community. Whether light or dark, Melanin contend with the repercussions of their skin complexion everyday.

“I was a childhood victim of self-hate albeit unbeknownst. As a young boy growing up in the Emmett Till era of the Mississippi Delta, I was early on traumatized by being colored and male.”

“White supremacy could be done tomorrow if we took inventory of all of our power.”