Hi John, it’s Cicley. This past month I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Ghana and Niger with Black Lives Matter.
Blackness is global, John. We know this seems like common sense, but too many times it’s easy to forget this and get caught up in our own bubbles.
Black people across the globe are striving for Black liberation every day and this month we’re honoring the stories, leaders, and moments that have spread throughout the Black diaspora.
Our fight for Black liberation has always been and will always be global.
When we say we ain’t free until we’re all free we mean every Black person in every country across the world. This is bigger than language, country, or culture.
That’s why this trip to the motherland was so powerful. This trip was a reminder of just how much work we have to do.
In partnership with AfriKicks and the Afro-Arab Group, we delivered over 5,000 pairs of shoes, 40,000 toys, and $150,000 worth of clothing.
We visited villages to drop off food for children who desperately needed it.
We built water wells in communities in dry regions where they offer hope of a future where daily survival is not a battle against scarcity.
For many of the people we spoke to, Black Lives Matter was something that they had heard of, but it seemed distant and far-away. It first entered their consciousness like so many other folks in 2020 with the murder of George Floyd.
Despite our differences, our struggles are the same. The effects of white supremacy may look different on our continents but when we trace the roots of our suffering the roots are the same.
This trip put so much into perspective, and I was so proud to see our work come to life in such impactful ways.
I can’t wait to share more with you soon,
Cicley Gay
Board Chairwoman
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles.
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