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« I am Black, Native-American and White » Black lives have always mattered to me. I grew up in a world with hardly anyone around that looked like me. That is part of the reason why I struggled to find a complete understanding of what it means to be both Black and white in this world. The only two people I could always identify myself with are my mom and dad. It is in those beautiful human beings - 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 - in whom I see my eyes, my nose, my hair, my skin. Everyone always knew I am biracial, but (most of the time) I was treated like ‘one of them’ when truly I now feel it would’ve helped me grow into my identity better, for others to acknowledge I am proudly Black and white. I have always identified as Black and white together. Fully. The fact that I’ve spend most of my life in the Netherlands where “doe maar normaal want dan doe je al gek genoeg“.. loosely translates to ‘please don’t stand out too much’ did not contribute to my self-identification as Black and white. This past month, since George Floyd’s death, has been all about self-education for me. How can I do better? Because honestly: 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱. Why am I only now speaking up LOUDLY about racism? I feel like I’ve let my brothers and sisters down. But how can I feel like a fraud.. when all my life I’ve experienced the same shit my community has? I wish I had more Black friends (not saying the friends I do have aren’t amazing) but then we could understand each other instantly. Share. Expand and grow together. I am gonna do better: Owning who I am And showing up Tho this matter is serious, and far from pretty I am positive and not afraid to tell the truth. As the energy on social media fades, I feel called to keep the momentum & energy going and keep raising awareness🌞🤎
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✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 Saturday 🅹🆄🅽🅴 20, Malieveld in The Hague Another Black Lives Matter protest from 14:00 - 15:30 🅲🅴🆃. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. To anyone who thinks I have suddenly become an activist, let me tell you I am not. I just feel the indescribable need now to stand with movements I care about. However, my participation in the demonstration on June 2 against police brutality was anything but ‘sudden’. I believe my 31 years on this earth have prepared me to finally take action this way.. Sometimes I feel guilty it has taken me at least 2 decades to finally speak up and stand up in a big way, but I am soooooo happy that I am at least NOW doing so. Of course, there are many more pressing world issues (𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘺𝘨𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘢, 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘠𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘨..) I care about.. why I haven’t spoken of them, I don’t know. I didn’t think my following would care to read what I have to say. But these past weeks, instead of an decrease in my followers I have seen an increase. So I feel connected more than ever, with like minded people. Maybe, just maybe I will start sharing more on my political views (note I don’t actively watch the news rather educate myself with conversations and self research) but who knows. Hope to see you Saturday and let me know if you like (or dislike) the new journey I am on🌻
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*r e m i n d e r * 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 The past couple of weeks have been intense: filled with well hidden emotions I hadn’t touched in years. My whole life I’ve dealt with racism (on a way smaller scale than what is happening in the US) and in the beginning I laughed at comments that were made. Just smiling and saying nothing. Once I had the vocabulary to speak my mind more clearly, I fiercely defended myself and others that experienced racist comments. Hell, I looooooved educating people on the stuff they were saying (or thinking for that matter) and clarify how hurtful it was. That fire inside of me burned bright like the sun and frankly, I never thought I would lose it. After a decade of explaining myself and teaching others, I was tired. Exhausted. The fire within me that burned so brightly, got lost somewhere along the way. Why was it my responsibility to teach ignorant people about racism? Why did I have to carry this weight on my shoulder? I believed everyone should just figure it out on their own. How naive of me… 9 years ago a spark reignited my fire when Black Pete was the highlight of every political discussion in the Netherlands. People asking me “wat vind jij nou eigenlijk van Zwarte Piet?” what I think of Black Pete? Well, If it is considered a traditional ‘kids party’, what does it matter if we color them pink? Because honestly, I think Zwarte Piet is fucking racist. You should’ve seen the looks on their faces lol.. 3 winters ago a grown man saw me walking down the street and yelled: “Hey I know you! You’re Zwarte Piet!”. In my adult life, I never thought this could still hurt me. From then on I slowly started calling people out on their racist remarks. Not as fierce as I did as a teenager, but gently getting back to where I was. With that o͟n͟e͟ t͟o͟o͟ m͟a͟n͟ ͟y “Zwarte Piet” comment my bubble of a free, happy world where unicorns shit glitter and everyone magically comes to their senses was aggressively broken. So here I am, a biracial woman alive at 31 years old in 2020. Just so you know, post-lockdown Dayna is not 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 anymore.
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Everyday tears roll down my face For how nothing really Has changed since 1865 For the injustice For that could be me My heart is heavy My mind is full Saying their names lights a fire in me and you George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Natasha MCKenna, Kalief Browder, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Emmett Till… the list is endless 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 What a year.. 6 months in Already so much pain, So much evil But there is also Countless light. And connection. 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 is the year we become change
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✊🏾✊🏽✊🏿 #blackouttuesday
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Teken ajb de petitie, please sign the petition: ✊🏽 https://www.justiceforbigfloyd.com It is the least you can do. This is America. But we are part of the solution too 🙏🏽 ➖talk and LISTEN to BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) ➖don’t stay silent because you think you can’t make a difference: every little bit helps no matter how big or small your influence is ➖educate yourself: read ➖go further than social media (this goes beyond reading a few posts and watching a few videos): it’s a great way to raise awareness, but if all you do is post and share.. no real change happens ➖join the solidarity protest against anti-black violence today on 📆 June 1st, Amsterdam de Dam at 5 pm and June 2nd in The Hague #georgefloyd #blm #blacklivesmatter
