On this day we honor thousands of our unknown
maternal ancestors, who were the true mothers of the nation.
“You were afraid to nurse your young
lest fallen breast offend your master’s sight
and he should flee to firmer loveliness.
And so you passed them, your children, on to
me.
Flesh that was your flesh and blood that was your
blood
drank the sustenance of life from me.
And as I gave suckle I knew I nursed my own child’s
enemy.
I could have lied,
told you your child was fed till it was dead of
hunger.
But I could not find the heart to kill orphaned
innocence.
For as it fed, it smiled and burped and gurgled
with content
and as for color knew no difference.
Yes, in that first while
I kept your sons and daughters alive.
But when they grew strong in blood and bone
that was of my milk
you
taught them to hate me.
Put your decay in their hearts and upon their lips
so that strength that was of myself
turned and spat upon me,
despoiled my daughters, and killed my sons.
You know I speak true.“
(Beah
Richards, excerpt from “A Black Woman Speaks of White Womanhood”)
Just because I’m a Muslim woman and you’re a Muslim man doesn’t mean I will timidly shrink into the corner whenever you walk by. Keeping my gaze lowered does not mean stepping aside so you can walk freely. Having modesty doesn’t mean disappearing. I am so strong in my faith and my womanhood and I know the status of women in Islam; if anything, you should step aside for us.
GUYS I WAS LITERALLY AT THIS SPEECH, I WATCHED HIM SAY ALL OF THESE THINGS WITH MY NAKED TWO EYEBALLS HOLY HELL
Is it me, or the closer we get to the end of Obama’s term, the more he turns into that uncle at the cook out who is quiet the rest of the year but is roasting EVERYBODY today.
slope point, the southernmost tip on new zealand’s south island, is hit with such persistently violent northern antarctic winds that trees grow in the windward direction. (click pic or link for credit x, x, x, x, x, x)
