#01 – BLV’s Top 20 Black Moments of 2020: All Power to the People

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
― Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography

We are living through history. The second iteration of the Roaring 20s came in fast and strong and should be used as a “Wake the fuck up” moment for all melanated people. Decades after decades generations of Black Americans were raised to believe that we lived in a post-racial country. That this country’s sins had not carried over into the “New World”. 2020’s Amerikkka said “fuck yo couch” and decided to show her true colors, being egged on by the Orange Menace aka President Pumpkin Spice.

2020 was the year that white Amerikkka, especially the part of Amerikkka that wants to make it great again, got a tiny taste of what equity could feel like and still managed to lose their collective shit. Ask Kevin and Karen. Whiteness still wore blinders as endless loops Black lives being snatched with impunity were plastered on news and social media outlets. Black lives couldn’t even find safety within quarantine. Add insult to injury by the Black Lives Matter movement being co-opted by commercialism and now they want us to pay money for Black Lives Matter Collections, none of which actually protects Black lives. It’s like a woke competition to see which brand can pretend to value Black lives, only once they have been taken, more. It’s truly disgusting.

However, we did not let a little ole pandemic stop us from taking to the streets. An awakening is happening amongst our people and it is my hope that we see who the real enemy is. It s time to dismantle the system designed to oppress us. It is time to continue to pool our dollars and resources to help our communities thrive. It is time to stop looking to whiteness and white spaces for validation.

This year reminded us of the sacrifices our ancestors made to get us this far and tapping into their energy to continue the work they started. Black people are breaking free from the prisons of arrested development, the prisons built by systemic racism that limited our access and abilities simply because we are born Black in Amerikkka. We are awaking from oppressive mentality and are finding our strength and power as a people, to stand up to the oppressor and not just turn to other cheek, but also fight back.

Black people are organizing.

Black people are philosophizing.

Black people are strategizing.

Black people are creating.

Black people are teaching.

Black people are learning.

Black people are listening.

Black people are hustling.

Black people are growing.

Black people are aware of our super powers. Now it is time to use them and burn this motherfucker down because there is no justice….just us. All power to the people.