Black Lives Matter Plaza

Happy Juneteenth weekend everyone! Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Juneteenth marks the anniversary of the announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army general Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas.

Few people know the story of Claudette Colvin: When she was 15, she refused to move to the back of the bus and give up her seat to a white person — nine months before Rosa Parks did the very same thing.

Most people know about Parks and the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott that began in 1955, but few know that there were a number of women who refused to give up their seats on the same bus system. Most of the women were quietly fined, and no one heard much more.

Colvin was the first to really challenge the law.

Now a 69-year-old retiree, Colvin lives in the Bronx. She remembers taking the bus home from high school on March 2, 1955, as clear as if it were yesterday.

The bus driver ordered her to get up and she refused, saying she'd paid her fare and it was her constitutional right. Two police officers put her in handcuffs and arrested her. Her school books went flying off her lap.

"All I remember is that I was not going to walk off the bus voluntarily," Colvin says.

It was Negro history month, and at her segregated school they had been studying black leaders like Harriet Tubman, the runaway slave who led more than 70 slaves to freedom through the network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. They were also studying about Sojourner Truth, a former slave who became an abolitionist and women's rights activist.

If you have the time, take a moment out of your day and watch The People vs. The Klan. It was about a dearly beloved black mother who lost her son after he was lyched by members of the K*K in 1981 and how she fought for justice. You will not regret it.

'The People v. The Klan': How to watch and what to read next Beulah Mae Donald's unwavering fight for justice after the 1981 lynching of her son Michael is chronicled in the four-part CNN Original Series, "The People v. The Klan." Here's how to watch and what you should add to your reading list to go deeper on the history surrounding this story.

I bet law enforcement takes it seriously this year. Last year, the Capitol building insurrection was a travesty that once again showed how divided and prejudiced we still are as a nation. Hopefully, their is not a repeat this year.

Unfortunately little has changed since that tragic day…

Rest In Peace to John Lewis. A true trailblazer .

This day 1 year ago Black Lives Matter Plaza was authorized by Mayor and the words “Black Lives Matter” was painted on 16th Street NW. It stretches from H Street and goes to K Street. The impetus to create the Plaza was ignited after George Floyd, an innocent black man in Minneapolis MN, was wrestled to the ground and died through asphyxiation after a Caucasian policeman’s knee rested on Floyd’s neck mercilessly for seven minutes. Celebrate with us and repost this if you love Black Lives Matter Plaza.

The Washington Post said the Tulsa race riots of 1921 were among the “worst race riots in the nation’s history.” It reported: “The death toll during the 12-hour rampage is still in dispute, but estimates have put it as high as 250. More than 1,000 businesses and homes were burned to the ground, scores of Black families were herded into cattle pens at the fairgrounds, and one of the largest and most prosperous Black communities in the United States was turned to ashes.”

Today marks the one year anniversary of George Floyd. However, America and the rest of the world have still been reeling in pain since his gruesome death. George Perry Floyd Jr. was an African American man murdered by police during an arrest after a store clerk suspected he may have used a counterfeit $20 bill in Minneapolis. Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Thank God justice was served, but unfortunately that will never bring him back from the dead.

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in 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were illegal in Brown v. Board of Education. The case marked the formal beginning of the end of segregation.

But the gears of change grind slowly. It wasn't until September 1957 when nine teens would become symbols, much like the landmark decision we know as Brown v. Board of Education, of all that was in store for our nation in the years to come.

The African American museum ( ) has finally reopened! Schedule a time when you can visit to revisit our dark and gruesome, yet rich African American history.

This Mother’s Day know that the birth of your child wasn’t in vain. Black boys and girls all over the world get to experience the joy and blessing of life because of you. ❤️💐