The Look of Love

It Was A Community Crime

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

"It's a shocking and disturbing reality that lynchings were not isolated murders only carried out by men in white hoods in the middle of the night. Often they were public crimes, witnessed, even celebrated by thousands of people... It was a community crime. This wasn't done by the Klan, or people who had to wear a mask. This was done by teachers and clergy and law enforcement officers and people you had to deal with everyday..."

To learn more, watch here:

https://bit.ly/Thousands-Watched-And-Participated

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

Equal Justice Initiative's "The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened to the public on April 26, 2018, is the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence.

Work on the memorial began in 2010 when EJI staff began investigating thousands of racial terror lynchings in the American South, many of which had never been documented. EJI was interested not only in lynching incidents, but in understanding the terror and trauma this sanctioned violence against the Black community created. Six million Black people fled the South as refugees and exiles as a result of these 'racial terror lynchings.'

This research ultimately produced Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror in 2015 which documented thousands of racial terror lynchings in 12 states. Since the report’s release, EJI has supplemented its original research by documenting racial terror lynchings in states outside the Deep South. EJI staff have also embarked on a project to memorialize this history by visiting hundreds of lynching sites, collecting soil, and erecting public markers, in an effort to reshape the cultural landscape with monuments and memorials that more truthfully and accurately reflect our history."

To make a donation and learn more about Equal Justice Initiative, please visit: https://bit.ly/-EJI

#ItsTimeToEndTheSilence

The Innocence Project: Advocating For The Innocent!

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

"The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism."

Donate TODAY!

Innocence Project: https://bit.ly/-InnocenceProject

CA Innocence Project: https://bit.ly/-CA-InnocenceProject

Thank you to Santa Claus Inc. of San Bernardino, CA!

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

Santa Claus Inc. of San Bernardino, CA, you made Christmas possible!! Even after all of these years, I still remember the red-net Christmas stockings full of candy. You also gave shirts, toys, and food boxes, and what a tremendous difference that made for 6 poor children whose only hope for a Christmas was to take a branch from a tree outside and decorate it with paper ornaments that we made by hand. The gifts you gave were salvation to us and our Mother and made a magical difference in a world of desolation and poverty. Thank you for all that you did for us during our childhood and all that you continue to do for the children and youth of the Inland Empire and beyond.

If you are able, donate to Santa Claus Inc. today! https://bit.ly/-SantaClausInc

A Proclamation on Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2023

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

"Dr. King imagined a different future for America — an America he called the 'Beloved Community.' Building the Beloved Community required a key shift in human understanding. It meant looking beyond external differences to see the union of all humankind. It also meant finding a way to deal with our grievances without animosity, in a way that recognized the interconnectedness of all humanity and allowed us to move forward together.

From the pulpit to the podium to the streets, Dr. King devoted his life to the quest for this Beloved Community in our Nation. His activism and moral authority helped usher in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He gave a voice to the restless spirit of millions yearning for change. He gave us a roadmap to unify, to heal, and to sustain the blessings of the Nation to all of its people...

Dr. King preached that 'darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.' In his memory, we strive to challenge violence and bigotry with grace and goodness. We work to embed equity and opportunity into all of the Federal Government’s policies and programs. And we serve to bring together a Nation in our dedication to these ideals." - President Joseph R. Biden

Read more here: https://bit.ly/-MLK-Day-2023

MLK Day of Service: https://bit.ly/-MLK-Day-of-Service

Above All, Love!

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

#DYK, The Salvation Army not only provides support to individuals and families throughout the holiday season, but all year long by providing housing support, food, toys, clothing and so much more!

During times of difficulty, The Salvation Army is actively fulfilling a mission for Good and bringing much needed relief and support to those who need it most.

Support your local Salvation Army today by giving a donation or starting a fundraiser!

Discover more here: https://bit.ly/-Love-Beyond-Christmas

#TheSalvationArmy

#LoveBeyondChristmas

Deeper Than Hair Salon of West Philadelphia

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

In addition to a Prayer for Peace for all of humanity, we also start this year out with an acknowledgment for businesses and organizations that go the mile to make a difference for others in their communities. The first business that we are absolutely delighted to highlight is Deeper Than Hair salon based in West Philadelphia. Deeper Than Hair proudly serves the community through positive hair care tutorials, service donations of support for youth when they are able, a children's book that reminds young people to love who they are and the hair they were given, and so much more.

To learn about the very good work that Deeper Than Hair is doing in their community, please visit: https://bit.ly/-DTH

Photo by Deeper Than Hair

Adultification Bias in American Society

The Look of Love Niya ParksComment

"This incident underscores the 'adultification bias' that young Black girls like Bobbi face in American society... It’s a very pervasive form of bias that does not know boundaries... In emergency rooms, we’re seeing it affect the treatment and diagnosis of Black girls. In schools, we’re seeing it come up in the form of harsher and more frequent discipline against Black girls... While the police handled the situation with Bobbi extremely well, it is also noted of the times where they didn’t – like last year when a Rochester police officer handcuffed a 9-year-old Black girl, put her in the back of a police car, and remarked 'you’re acting like a child' before pepper-spraying her as she cried out for her father." - Rebecca Epstein, Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality

With all of the progress that we have made as a society and as human beings, it's truly unfortunate that Black children still aren't held in the same esteem and compassion as all the other children of our nation and the world. It's unfortunate that they aren't looked out for equally and that their tears don't matter. From child welfare to law enforcement, to healthcare, education, and beyond, the experiences of Black children are discounted, discarded and of no concern to far too many.

Read the full CNN article here: https://bit.ly/BlackChildrenShouldMatter

Photo by CNN