21 years young. God Fearing {but more spiritual than religious}. College Student(Political Science Major w/ a minor in Sociology). Voluptuous & Curvaceous. Sensitive. Caring. Hopeless Romantic. Honest & Extremely Blunt. Smart. Thought Driven. Weird. Hilarious & Goofy. Wise. Beautiful.
STOP POLICING MY BODY & SELF LOVE WITH THE CLOTHES YOU ALLOW ME TO BUY!!
I am tired of having to wear slip dresses/lingerie to find a dress that doesn’t come down to my calves.
I am tired of having to cut up the shirts that I buy so they DON’T cover my stomach.
I am tired of having to find weird shit in the fit size section that is meant to be oversized on someone else and squeezing into it.
I am tired of having the very options for clothing I am allowed to buy in my size determine how sexual I am allowed to be with MY BODY.
I am tired of being reminded any time I go to buy clothing that my body is considered shameful and ought to be hidden and covered at all costs.
Yes, it is possible to look cute, show off your body and wear short skirts and crop tops and find that at these stores. But not only is it hard to find these pieces, but it’s so deeply emotionally damaging to have to sift through piles and piles of sack dresses and kaftan tops and swim skirts to find anything that makes me feel young and cute. It sucks so much being told all the time by the clothing available to me that my body isn’t the body of a cool, young, hip, sexy babe. If you don’t like my body or the way I dress, no problem. But don’t tell me I can’t love it!
**Note: no shade to all you ladies who want to be covered, who aren’t there yet in your journey of self love, or for any reason feel more comfortable in the styles of clothing shown above. If you wanna wear a top or dress like that, respect to you, but you shouldn’t be made to feel like you HAVE to.
My looks: 1. Kaftan top worn as dress by Babooshka Boutique 2. Swimsuit Forever 21 3. Swimsuit worn as top from Forever21, Skirt ASOS 4. Top from Tikedi 5. Slip Dress/Lingerie worn as dress by Lane Bryant 6. Dress from shoptunnelvision
The clever ‘Always lock up your guns’ film I posted a few months ago is back with an eye catching print campaign. If they find it, they’ll play with it
Contrary to popular belief, marginalized groups actually don’t owe allies anything and aren’t obligated to praise allies just for showing basic human decency.
I almost didn't return to school once I found out I was pregnant with her. Through prayer I decided to stay and finish out my last semester instead of "take time off." Just the thought of her kept me going. Thank you to everyone who supported me, gave me words of encouragement, and to my mom, her Tee Coco, & the most annoying and lovable siblings who watched her in my final weeks. This semester was crazy but through God's grace I made it through. 😊😊
Not only did my baby turn 2 months today, but I also found out I passed all of my classes. No more undergrad for meee! Thanks be to God! I'll be getting my degree this Thursday. 😊
The crisis born of Officer Darren Wilson’s non-indictment in Ferguson, Missouri, last week has compelled the White House to push for national police reform.
President Barack Obama called for Monday $75 million to equip 50,000 police officers across the nation with body cameras intended to track their interactions with civilians.
The budget for the body cameras, announced during a day of meetings with civil rights leaders and members of law enforcement, is part of a three-year, $263 million initiative on police reform that would also expand training for law enforcement, according to the Associated Press. Obama plans on working with Congress next year to include the program in the 2015 budget.
The program: The package would provide a 50% federal match for local police departments to acquire body cameras, Talking Points Memo reports. There are no confirmed numbers on how many police agencies use body cameras, but a 2013 report cited by Talking Points Memo suggests that currently most do not.
The White House also is working on an executive order to change the review process under which military-grade equipment is given to local police departments and require new standards for their supervision. Talking Points Memo says that a senior administration official declined to comment on whether Obama would support a ban on the transfer of militarized equipment itself to the police.
The grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson triggered an explosion of protests, riots and a fierce national debate over the relationship between police agencies and the black community. The fervor of the response seems to have already surpassed the outcry last year over George Zimmerman’s acquittal after he killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.
A necessary step: Body cameras have been brought up as one way to help reform behavior of police agencies, some of whom have proven to be systematic practitioners of racial discrimination. A black person is four times more likely to be arrested for having marijuana than a white person, despite using the drug at similar rates. Young black males are 21 times more likely to be shot dead by police than their white peers. The United States incarcerates its minorities at a greater rate than any other country in the world, including South Africa under apartheid.
Substantial evidence based on case studies show body cameras can work as a tool of accountability and quickly decrease the rate of the use of force in confrontations between police and civilians.
Body cameras won’t solve the deeper structural incentives that police officers have for surveilling, harassing and arresting black and brown communities around the country, but they could be a useful tool for curbing the epidemic of police brutality that seems to have hit a breaking point nationally.
romaincrisis
jbbartram-illu
jacobvanloon
