Unapologetically Courageous

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Today had to be one of the most emotionally challenging days for me ever in life when pertaining to civil rights. It was a great learning experience however in the International Civil Rights Center and museum the images were so graphic that I was lamented to the point that I was brought to tears although I knew and still know of the cruelty that exist in this world, however, seeing the images of the lynchings that happened to my innocent brothers made me think... what is stopping racist white people now and to what extent does this still exist? Such as in a world where police brutality goes unpunished and people like Freddy Gray, Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland are killed for being suspicious, thugs, gangsters... to reiterate they were killed for being black. A blackness that in my eyes is beautiful but in the eyes of society it is something to fear... but not a personal fear because as black people we can not fear who we are because then we may never know what we could become. We must have courage, a courage that allows us to push through modern day discrimination like those who came before us and make society a place that is welcoming to all people regardless of gender identity, sexuality, race and ethnicity, abilities, sexual expression and anything else to truly become a house that is no longer divided. 

-Destini Philpot 

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