To Speak or Nah?

Hey, Hey!

Its your girl Takima and I am back with PART 2 of the “It Starts with a Conversation” blog series. If you didn’t get to read the first one, check it out here. As the dust is settling and people are making more noise and letting their “voices be heard” whether in protest or these internet streets, I’ve noticed something that needs to be addressed.

With the spark of injustice ignited by George Floyd everyone has had something to say. People who I personally didn’t expect to say anything to people I knew would have a POV and then some. Even in the in the non-profit where I serve as data specialist and program assistant, there have been intentional staff conversations surrounding injustice and being black in America. Very much needed however I have noticed something that I believe needs to be addressed.

Insert Pink Elephant in the Room

I have noticed on the internet and in person there are people who are shaming those that have not said anything or given an opinion about the events that are taking place in our world. Now, on some level I believe EVERYONE is thinking about it because realistically how can you not, however on the other hand does that mean that you MUST speak publicly on it? That is the question I will do my best to answer here. You know the saying “opinions are like buttholes everyone has one”? Well, just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean you have to express it for the world to hear. I happen to be very vocal and expressive, hence this blog, so of course I was going to take the opportunity to discuss what is going on and share my thoughts and feelings. Everyone isn’t like that and that is OKAY! People who have a voice and choose to use it should not force, ridicule or shame others to use theirs. This topic and tragic event has caused severe trauma to some and for others have put them in a space where if they did speak it would be utterly taken out of context and cause more friction. People have the right to keep their feelings to themselves and should not be “bullied” to speak up if they choose not to.

Common sense right?

Well common sense isn’t so common and adults are the biggest bullies out there. I have witnessed people either negating the reality of what is going on and ignoring people’s feelings about it and/or people are literally cornering people to speak and trying to make them feel bad for not. I mean how is that okay or making lives better? Being down for the cause is respecting how people process and how they choose to use their voices or opinions. Some have channeled their pain or thoughts into doing more in their communities, or have sowed money into organizations that can and will assist to make this world a better environment for every person black and white. I believe we need to understand that everyone’s voice is not just used with their mouth, your voice can be used money, taking action and putting in effort to build up communities, businesses or creating opportunities for those who would not otherwise access to them.

What about the Big Corporations and Brands

Here are my thoughts and realities regarding big companies and corporations speaking up and out about injustice and equality.

1. THEY ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO SPEAK!

Every business has a set of values, morals and ethics that they go by. If those core values do not line up with what is going on, why would they speak on or make a statement about what is happening? That would be going against their business ideals and because of that a statement will not be made and we should not expect it.

2. Brands and Businesses ALWAYS speak the language of their top consumers.

Big businesses or brands that have made statements have an obligation to their customers, especially to the black ones. If they have a large black following or customer base their statements are made to make sure that their target audience sees their efforts and to guarantee they do not lose them. Are they sincere about their statements, I would hope so but just so we are clear just because they made a statement doesn’t mean that is how they truly feel, just being honest.

3.Watch the actions behind the statement!

After the statement is made look at the action afterwards. Businesses can say and make statements all day but what are they going to do to follow that up? Make sure that those big brands and businesses that have had banners made that scream #BlackLivesMatter really believe in, support and are DOING something to show they truly believe and stand behind that

That’s all I have for now, join me in the conversation in the comments below! I want to know what you think and if you have been or felt bullied to speak. It’s not okay to feel pressured and when the hype is all said and done the fight continues. That is what matters. So, lets talk! I am here and just in case you missed the first convo, read it here.

I will see you in PART 3 on Friday! Until then, be BRAVVE and Unapologetic!

-Takima

A Time To...

It's been a while since I've felt the desire to put pen to pain. Alot has transpired in a span of days here recently in the worldand in my own life I am facing my own storm. However in light of what is going on in our nation I do have a few things to say. Making my comeback to blogging I am starting with a 3-part series regarding the the civil unrest we are experiencing right now. I believe that nothing happens by coincidence, things happens when they're supposed to. I have wanted to bring back my blog for a few months now and didnt find the time, I now realized it wasnt time for my voice to be heard again; now it is.

Before anything I want to first offer hope. In times like these we tend to want to throw up our hands and just give up. We feel like in spite of all our efforts, nothing will change and that's not true! Hope is something that we can always look forward to and believe even when we do not see what we want in the moment, we can be reassured that it will show up.

I want to offer encouragement. For those of us who feel down, angry, scared. I want to let you know that this is your moment to see God and to see yourself be apart of history. The little that we do know, the stories we read about how people handled segregation and hatred. This is your moment to be apart of the new change and possibly create the final solution.

With that being said, let me introduce you to the BRAVVER me. I developled a new languagen and my voice has changed. I've always been vocal and bold but I have found that now it has been elevated to the next level. In this series, you will see, understand and hear that I more raw, direct and unfiltered, unapologetically, nice to meet you and thank you for being here :)

A Time When...

I attended (in my opinion) the most profound and to me prestigious law and government school in the Bronx (The Bronx School for Law Goverment and Justice). It was there in English class we watched A Time to Kill and Rosewood. I walked out on both movies feeling enraged that the color of my skin could perpetrate such hatred, anger and violence. What Did I DO?! I was born in this skin, I didn't make it this way. As I cried for what seemed like days I looked at my lovely Jewish white English teacher with such disdain, I knew then that the world I was being prepared for, I would not be ready to conquer fully. How could I? In that same year I witnessed Amadou Diallo, be shot 41 times by NYC police officers! I wept, why must the color of skin be a catalyst for such igonarant and evil torture? Why must we bear the brunt of your hatred and with insult to injury, infractions are backed by the government? It saddens me each and everytime I hear of law enforcement who willfully kills and doesn't get the reprimand they deserve, it infuriates me.

I go back to the day I watched those videos in high school. I relive the anger, the sadness I felt because I was darker skinned. Not because I didn't love who I was, it was the bewilderment of how my skin color could make someone else treat me like nothing. It's like having a child you necessarily did not want and abusing the child everyday of their lives. Why?! Because you can? They did not ask to be born just as we did not ask to be apart of this nation. I get it though, our royal nature, our compassionate hearts, our love of family and tradition, our riches in wealth and culture that's what attracted them, that's what wooed them to our side and made them believe that if they stripped us of everything we are at the core, we would submit. They could always get over and we would accept it. For years, we've endured the rape, the killings, the lies, the murders, the manipulations, the double standards, the cover ups, yet we are the criminals, thugs, terrorists, gangsters?! Us?! No, we have learned quite well how to manipulate, spin, destroy, destruct from the very hands of the "forefathers". What we did not take into consideration was the reality of us mimicking the terror done to us, we would pay the price times two, theirs and ours.

Now the tables are turing and the seeds that have been sown have sprouted and as the mountain of hatred grows, so is the anger and years of trauma that have been rooted in us and now you are seeing those seeds sprout with strong limbs of mass destruction. That's why the looting, that's why the destruction, that's why the constant tears because

We

Are

Tired.

Picture This...

Do you know what is like to wake up in the morning, get yourself dressed, get your kids up, drop them to school, go to work, pick them up come back home and start dinner? If you do, you're white or "priviledged" with that being the only thought or concern.

#WeAreNotTheSame

For us, we get up, get dressed, get our kids up, and we are praying, covering, hoping and asking God to bring everyone back home safe and ALIVE! Indeed, we exist in two worlds and its called The "United" States, but where is the unity or equality? If its okay for an unarmed black person to be killed on sight like a piece of meat slapped on a counter, there is no unity or equality in that. I'm more than tired, I'm more than traumatized, I'm perplexed.

To live in a country that says "Land of the Free home of the BRAVE", free is relative to those that walked up on the scene and took it over, BRAVE are those who were captured, brought over and built this country on their backs and stayed! Created families, cultivated the land and still were never really free. They were just on temporary probation or until the "PO" decides that they want you dead just because they feel like it.

I'm pissed!!

A Time To...

So, what do we/I do now? I know I can pray and at some point I will. I have decided to use one of my greatest weapons (my pen and thoughts) to create an atmosphere of truth, storytelling and dialouge. I want those who do, those who don't, those who will try and those who won't want to understand what this truly means for us to be Black in America. I want to create a platform for voices, storytellers, change makers and agents who desire to see our world become better for the next generations.

Let me clear as a believer I know, trust and understand that God is indeed in control, He never left His post. I also believe He is activating His people to stand in the gap and be on the front lines and there is an assignment for all of us to take part in history. My first call to action is you for you to comment and dialouge with me. Let's discuss how we can be real change agents in this season. If you also feel led, share and invite others to join the conversation. Lastly, I ask that you don't just be consumed with what's going on, consume and create!

Look at me, I'm just a black girl from the Bronx with Power in My Pen, My Stories and My Blackness. It's time to start the conversation, join me!

-Takima

The BRAVE Bounce Back: Being You BRAVEly!

I'm BACCCKKKK!!! And if you are reading this blog post you stayed with me, thank you!

Alot has changed and transpired since I last blogged and I am super grateful for this brand new fresh start and simply because I am here, I am Alive and God has entrusted in me a charge to take the world by storm, OWN It and do what He has allowed me to do in the earth, can I get an Amen!

Okay-- I'm done preaching, lol

Its been taking a while for me to find my footing in a new city. Since my last post, I moved to Atlanta from New York City and I struggled for a long time figuring out my place. I felt like I was having to fit in to the make up of this city. Then I made the mistake of trying to still live like a New Yorker in Atlanta, BIG Mistake! I began to feel so out of place and frustrated. Not being able to find a place, money lost, opportunities drying up, getting set back one time after another, it was starting to feel like I made the worse decision of me and my daughter's life. I didn't know who I was anymore or who I was supposed to be for that matter. In New York, I was a shining budding entrepreneuer making good money and was going up. Then I became a struggling small business owner who began to lose clients and was not making any connections to bring on anyone new. What was going on and why? I didn't have the answer for a couple of months. Then I began to intern at a non-profit organization working with the homeless population and things began to drastically change for me. I was brought back to who I was at the core and was reminded what my true heart's desire was.

For the first time in a long time I feel like I am truly myself. I am the true Takima I was always meant to be and I am becoming more and more comfortable and content in my own skin. I have some settling to do into myself but overall I am truly loving me, my purpose and passion. I am embracing the journey as it is even though it took me some time to get here.

Now that I have shared my personal story and heart I want it to encourage you. Five years ago God birthed something in me. I didn't quite know what it would turn into and it has since become my brand and it is now morphing into a movement. Everything about me and my lifestyle is BRAVE (Bold Resilient Authentic, Victorious Empowered). Being BRAVE is something that most of us want to be, desire to be or just are, right? For some of us we have to grow into our BRAVENESS and that takes time. When I had my daughter now six years ago, that is where the journey and the birth of BRAVE began. Within the first five years I was given the jewels of BRAVE and in that time I learned and grew into a different aspect of being BRAVE:

Year 1 taught me Boldness which is to truly believe and stand for what you represent. Year 2 taught me to be Resilient in the face of adversity when all hell is breaking loose in your home and life and you have mouths to feed with little money in your bank account. Year 3 taught me Authenticity which I know is overused right now but hear me out. Being authentic is not just staying true to yourself because if you don't know who you are, how can you be true? Being authentic is always telling the truth about where you are, not allowing others to take you off track to where you are headed and to honor your successes and your failures and becoming better because of them both. Year 4 taught me Victory which is celebrating every choice, every victory no matter how "tiny" it seems. Little things become larger things so celebrate All things! Year 5 taught me Empowerment which is after having been knocked down , dragged, hurt, in pain, you STILL get up, dust yourself and keep going and bring others along the way.

With each year God took me through some stuff, I experienced set backs, trials, challenges and I perservered. After overcoming each hurdle, I realized that I became each of the compenents of being BRAVE.

Bouncing back BRAVE is more than taking a courageous plunge into something you were afraid of doing, or standing up to something or something that was intimidating. Its using the very thing that tried to knock you down as the spring board to bring you back up stronger and more powerful than you were before. Its knowing you will get knocked down in life but believing that you have the ability to get back up again. Your BRAVE Bounce back is the very thing someone is waiting on because they are looking at you to believe they can do it to. I am not saying that will be easy but you just believe that you can, have faith that you will, you have it in you to Live The BRAVE Life and to...

Let nothing stop you and watch and see your life change before your very eyes!

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I want to share a few things with you before I sign out:

1. My Books are availble at "The BRAVE Bookstore" on my site. Make sure to check that out! 2. I will be hosting my first Live event in Atlanta,GA , stay tuned for details! 3. If you are a mom and business owner/entreprenuer and want to share your experience/struggles in being a mom please send me an email at: takima@takimahwrites.com 4.My signature "Beyond The Book" program will be opening its doors for the spring session of the new LIT Academy in May! Check back on the site for registration details 5. New courses, programs and workshops are coming your way. Make sure to stay connected to find out whats to come!

Until Next Time, Be you, Stay True and Live The BRAVE Life!

- Takima The Writer