Descendant is a powerful documentary that shares the story of the descendants of the survivors of the Clotilda, believed to be the last ship that carried enslaved Africans to the United States. pic.twitter.com/PEwoDthH1c
This @HGMedia film is one way for the families of the survivors to reclaim part of their story. I hope you’ll watch today on Netflix — and encourage your family and friends to watch and learn about this part of our history, too.
Just spent the last 2 hours phone banking here in Texas. I called a grandmother. She’s 91. Black. She answered so sweet. I told her who I was, and asked if she was registered to vote for November. She said YES MAAM! I said, “wonderful. I hope we can expect your support...”
— Stephanie Whisenton 🏳️🌈🐳 (@StephTennille) August 12, 2020
“.... for the Biden Harris ticket.” She said, “Harris?” I said yes. She said, “He picked Kamala“ and broke down in tears, and started praying for Kamala. 😭
I started to cry because I knew why this moment was heavy. I asked her, “what was she feeling?” She said...
— Stephanie Whisenton 🏳️🌈🐳 (@StephTennille) August 12, 2020
****
“baby, I’m overjoyed. Look at God.” I told her I’ve been emotional all afternoon thinking about my slave great great grandparents, and how I wish they knew it would get better. She told me about her days picking cotton, and about her scarred hands.
— Stephanie Whisenton 🏳️🌈🐳 (@StephTennille) August 12, 2020
She talked about her grandfather being lynched. She told me she hoped Kamala had the best security. She’s afraid someone will try to hurt her. We prayed again.
Before we hung up she told me to dream bigger than my last dream. I promised I would.
Thank you Mrs Ethel. ❤️
— Stephanie Whisenton 🏳️🌈🐳 (@StephTennille) August 12, 2020
In the last 3 weeks, millions of members (a 4,665% increase vs. 3 wks prior) have sought out 13TH, Ava DuVernay’s essential doc about the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the US.
Black people have been wondering why white people and other non-black people have been riled so much by George Floyd's murder-- and not by videos of other police shootings.
Perhaps now, what we finally see is a collective white shame and guilt about these cruelties.
So white people, you guys need to figure this out how to erase the emotional rewards of sadistic pleasure white people have long enjoyed in dominating and destroying black bodies.
When these truths are pointed out by black people or actual historians, it doesn't mean we want to erase everything they did. It doesn't mean we don't think the founding fathers' legacy should be deleted.
The problem is that many white people believe that being a racist is an all-encompassing trait that stains everything else a person does. They believe it is an evil feeling that lives inside the heart.
The fact that police disproportionately shoot black people is racist. It does not mean that individual officers go to work hoping to kill black people. It means they work for a system that disproportionately target black Americans.
Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington and others did not explicitly say they hated black people.
They just created a system that dehumanized black people and treated black people as property. And, while we often focus on slavery, it was not just about slavery.
White supremacy is the reason there is an electoral college There were more enslaved people in the south, which would give the South a political advantage if they counted slaves as whole human beings.
White supremacy is the reason behind America's military might.
Southern states didn't think the federal government should be able to raise an army because they feared black soldiers might invade the South to free their black brothers.
So, instead of facing these historical truths and force us to reconcile with how this country has treated black people and indigenous people since its inception, we'd rather lie about it.
And, in the vacuum created by this intentional whitewashing, racism flourishes
Why wouldn't you think a speech at Mount Rushmore was a great idea if you didn't know how America stole the land from the Sioux after signing a treaty that said it belonged to them?
They represent the historical lengths this country has gone to whitewash the past. They represent the lie of "liberty and justice for all." They represent their willingness to ignore racism in order to honor whiteness in all its glory.
Amidst the national uprising for racial justice, ’Hamilton’ star @DaveedDiggs and a collective of Black artists created this evocative video inspired by Frederick Douglass’ ‘What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?’ pic.twitter.com/FFcCVVeWcr
Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory, or an acceptance of the way things are. It's a celebration of progress. It's an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible––and there is still so much work to do.https://t.co/5XCRdnk3iR
"Juneteenth is a time to recommit ourselves to the work that remains undone. We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow’s light."—@BarackObama, 2016 pic.twitter.com/WQ2C4QXLG3
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) June 19, 2020
— FilmFatale_NYC 🇭🇹 🇩🇴 🇺🇸 (@FilmFatale_NYC) June 19, 2020
#OTD in 1865, enslaved African Americans were notified of their freedom by Union troops in Galveston Bay, TX—two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Though it has long been celebrated among the African American community, it is a history that has been marginalized & still remains largely unknown to the wider public. The legacy of #Juneteenth shows the value of deep hope & urgent organizing in uncertain times. #APeoplesJourneypic.twitter.com/juqbpOGxYu
Although the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control, some enslaved people would not be free until much later.
For more than 250,000 African Americans, June 19, 1865, signaled the final day of their enslavement. Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, Texas had yet to officially recognize the President’s executive order. #APeoplesJourneypic.twitter.com/1eZrAfElgv
Not until Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX with 2,000 soldiers on June 19, 1865, did enslaved African Americans learn about their emancipation.
The Obama Diary 
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