#myindependence

[julesthepsychic]

*someone trying to flirt w me, asking me to spend time doing something together* um. no thanks. i can do that by myself #MyIndependence

[thatgalninifromthemd]

HAPPY JUNETEENTH!!!!!!!!!!

[divinezu]

#MyIndependence 🙌🏽 #iCelebrateMe . . . 💙 Trust, harmony, peace & loyalty, ❤ Gratitude, passion, unconditional love, happiness & hope 🤍 Purity, Pure Love, Humbleness 🖤 This is for our brothers, sisters and all our Ancestors ✊🏽✊🏿✊🏾 continue to guide and protect us 🙏🏽 #4thofJuly 🎆 #IndependenceDay 💪🏽 #BlackPrivilege 💯 #GoodVibes ⚡ #DoNothingAverage 🌹 #DNA 🧬 #Vans 👟 https://www.instagram.com/p/CCRJS7Apvy-/?igshid=15vlqhf55oaet

[mozaicsoul]

View this post on Instagram

"Set me free"......🖤 . . .Thank you to my manager/photographer/visionary @okitomusic with @sky5studios 📸 .Thank you @faded_by_ej for the amazing cut💈 .@leila_elite for the makeup & support. 🌹 .Appreciate your for styling inspiration @bjaystyles 👖👕 .S/O to fam bam @cameronbethany & @imakemadbeats for the Stuntarious tune! 🎤🎧🎹 #artistlife #DowntownOrlando #artistry #myfreestshootever #me #myindependence #funkstress #singer #songwriter #musician (at Downtown Orlando)

[siddhi61196-blog]

The first of The Thousand Selfies Taken in this Mirror. #MYNewHouse #MYIndependence #MYMilanDiaries (at Via Alessi)

[professorgaia]

He merely asked to paint me. I never thought it would be this mesmerizing. Thank you Jesse Morgan. Thank you. http://7462puma.deviantart.com/ #blackwomanisgod #blackwomanart #blackart #painting #painter #jessemorgan #7462puma #gaia #gaiagraphy #thegaiamonroeshow #professorgaia #ourdirtyreflections #ebonygoddess #afroboriquen #puertorican #boriqua #mixed #mixedgirl #palmtrees #island #myindependence #peace #detroitgoddess #vegas #painter #paintme #blackportrait #blackartist (at Planet Earth)

[euqinuized]

What I really want to say.

So a POC friends I have known since middle school posted about today. A non POC (I have also known for the same amount of time) then commented about her post and her own friends were angry. The conversation is as follows:

Friend 1:  Happy 4th of July, white America! I say white America because the last black slaves didn't get independence until June 19, 1865. That's right, 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and nearly a century after America's first birthday on July 4, 1776. But anyways, you were tired of being oppressed and treated unfairly by the British (white on white crime but who cares) so you stood up for your rights! You rioted, destroyed property (Boston Tea Party), and fought with VIOLENCE and all out WAR (American Revolution). After all of your efforts, you WON! Let's celebrate your victory against your oppressors by reading the history books that praise your job well done! Let's celebrate with fireworks and remember the heroes who did whatever it took to become FREE! Congratulations, you did it! 🎆*Note to everyone else, do not attempt to stand up for your human rights. Only some people are entitled to those. You will be painted as a savage even if you try to protest peacefully, besides no one will listen to you. 💕

Friend 2: So apparently today is only for white people to celebrate...what will they come up with next?! 😂😂

     Friend 2:  (insert screenshot of Friend 1′s post)

     Friend 2′s Friend Comment:  “Oh my goodness”

     Friend 2′s Friend Comment: “Wow”

     Friend 2′s Friend Comment: “Wow!”

     Friend 2′s Friend Comment:  “ I have so much to say about this crap but I'm not gonna....” 

     Friend 2′s Friend Comment: Is that for real....?!! 😮😮😐😐😒😒

     Friend 2:  (insert screenshot of Friend 1′s post)

     Friend 2′s Friend Comment:  Oh, for all that is good and holy..........!!!!! 😡

My Comment:  I don't understand how you think our friend's post is funny. Mind sharing your thoughts on why this makes you angry or amused? And who are you referring to when you say "they"?

Friend 2:  I honestly thought it was a joke at first because of how ridiculously racist it is. And when I say they, I'm referring to the ignorant people who always look for a way to divide the people of our country. Our nation's day of independence isn't about race. This country was built on immigrants and people from every different background...and last time I checked, African Americans fought in the war for independence as well. I think it's awful that people want to take something so joyful and turn it into something so hateful..because the whole tone of what she said was sarcastic and hateful. And that's all I'm saying on the matter. Have a wonderful evening celebrating OUR country's freedom.

What I want to say: You can take that ‘have a wonderful evening’ and shove it. This is not OUR country and it’s not even YOUR country. (This of course depending on what makes this country yours). Currently, it is a white man’s country (in terms of benefit, opportunity, power, and sometimes quality of life, etc.). Independence Day and the establishment of the Declaration of Independence didn’t even apply to your female ancestors and in a way it still doesn’t. (I’m referring to one fact of inequality about the fact that TODAY women still get paid less than men, yet ‘all men are equal’). My ancestral African (since I don’t know what country my family came from) history is stained by the blood of my lost family because of the building of this country. Weird, I thought you referring to my friend as ignorant. Her statement is not dividing anyone. Her rhetorics is simply trying to point out the hypocrisy between America’s historic fight for oppression and people of color’s fight for oppression today. Then again, how can we divide a country that isn’t together in the first place. How can you say US independence is not about race then mention that it “was built on immigrants and people from every different background” and that African Americans fought for independence. As involuntary residents of a country hoping to get freedom from slavery, yes, dang right African Americans fought in the war. And the war FOR American independence mostly depended on their enlistment. If the participation of immigrants and other people of color was an important characteristic to the success of the war, then it’s definitely a fact about America’s independence. No where did she say she hated this holiday or country. Even if she did it could be justified because her African American ancestors aided in the war for this country’s freedom then only to have her fellow African American’s shot consistently today just for being a person of color. I might 100% call it my country when I don’t have to worry about the violence and racism that comes with being an African American in the United States. But that’s just my opinion. 

What I will say:  Now I’m not speaking for her, and I don’t know if you tried to understand where she came from, but I will try to explain what I believe is part of where she may be coming from. 

Thanks, but in my opinion, this is not completely OUR country and it’s not even YOUR country. (This of course depending on what you think makes this country yours). Currently, it is a white man’s country (in terms of benefit, opportunity, power, and sometimes quality of life, etc.). Independence Day and the establishment of the Declaration of Independence didn’t even apply to your female ancestors and in a way it still doesn’t. (I’m referring to one fact of inequality about the fact that TODAY women still get paid less than men, yet ‘all men are equal’). My ancestral African (since I don’t know what country my family came from) history is stained by the blood of my lost family because of the building of this country. Her statement is not trying to divide anyone. Her rhetoric is simply trying to point out the hypocrisy between America’s historic fight for oppression and people of color’s fight for oppression today. Then again, how can we divide a country that isn’t together in the first place? How can you say US independence is not about race then mention that it “was built on immigrants and people from every different background” and that African Americans fought for independence? As involuntary residents of a country hoping to get freedom from slavery, yes, dang right African Americans fought in the war. And the war FOR American independence mostly depended on their enlistment. If the participation of immigrants and other people of color was an important characteristic to the success of the war, then it’s definitely a important fact about America’s independence. No where did she say she hated this holiday or country. Even if she did it could be justified because her African American ancestors aided in the war for this country’s freedom then only to have her fellow African American’s shot consistently today just for being a person of color. I might 100% call it my country when I don’t have to worry about the violence and racism that comes with being an African American in the United States, for me, my family AND my future children. But that’s just my point of view. I hope this explanation can give some insight on the matter. Hope you enjoyed your night. 

[sfcmorrison]

Tell us what independence means to you! Learn more: http://goo.gl/forms/5Sg1Uj4jBk See the full video: https://youtu.be/yPmVuVVsalc #IBecameASoldier #domore #bemore #makethecut #ArmyTeam #defyexpectations #raisethebar #fortworth #dfw #dallas #Army #success #goals #dreams #courage #discipline #honor #MyIndependence