Today is Feb. 1, which means for the US, it is the start of Black History Month.

I'm not going to pretend I know anything about what it's like to be Black in the US, but what I can do is give a brief summary of history.

About 250 years ago, the US became a country. Freedom was it's motto, but the majority of its population was forced to watch the freedom of the white man from afar.

Slaves were only counted as 3/5 of a person, and this was considered a courtesy because the South wanted more votes in Congress, but the North fought even the 3/5 Compromise since this would give the South more power in legislation.

It wasn't for another several decades that American slaves were finally given a chance at freedom, but first the then Republican Party had to fight the Mason-Dixon line, the 1850 Compromise, voter fraud, and so many other kinds of push back that the South receded and started a war before slaves were finally free.

But that's not the end of story. African-Americans were still exploited, lynched, harassed, and discriminated against, problems that are still not fixed.

After the Civil War came sharecropping, basically another form of slavery.

Next was Jim Crow.

Then Plessy v. Ferguson.

There were victories. The 13th Amendment officially outlawed slavery; the 14th gave all male citizens equal rights; and the 15th established franchise for all male citizens.

But they weren't perfect. Jim Crow laws did their best to keep Black people from voting, and Plessy v. Ferguson made sure segregation allowed equal rights to die.

Future laws would help, but nothing could stop racism from groups like the KKK from killing Black people practically unencumbered.

Thankfully, the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr., would ignite a fire in Black Americans and sympathizers that would result in several successful fights against segregation and the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Things would continue to improve as more and more people realized that racism is horrible and disgusting, but white privilege remains a problem to this day, most recently in George Floyd's death and several others like it.

Everyday, thousands of people turn to groups like BLM to fight for equal rights, and everyday, progress is made.

But equality will never be reached unless everyone works for it.

The road to equality is a marathon, and we're not finished.

Here are some resources for anyone who wants to learn about Black History:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Here are some books and other media that highlight Black History and the Black Experience:

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas as well as her other books (book)

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe as well as his other books (book)

To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchmen by Harper Lee (book)

All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds (book)

42 starring Chadwick Boseman (film)

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson as well as her other books (book)

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (book and movie)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. (link)

This is a list of 50 books about race or feature Black protagonists

Here are some more obscure people who were active in Civil Rights:

Jesse Owens

Dred Scott

Bayard Rustin

Toussaint Louverture

Here's a list of 24

Feel free to either reply to this post or shoot me a message! Any recommendations are welcome!

I am SERIOUSLY in love with the new series ‘Pokemon Journeys’ on Netflix.

But FOR REAL, did you REALLY have to give Ash a SmartPhone instead of a Pokedex? I mean, I love Pokemon a lot for its original universe, some future ideas like advanced holograms, and the way back when stuff like the lack of phones and other advanced technology, unless its run by pokemon. First they sent Ash to public school when I always loved the idea that you didn’t have to go to school in Pokemon, but you could go to particular schools for what you wanted to, like swimming, pokemon research, etc. I just feel like now adding in Smart Phones takes away from it being its own universe with its own advanced technology, taking Clements inventions as an example.

I do love how in this series and Sun and Moon ever since ‘Pokemon’ started having new creators there are more darker skinned characters that aren’t a racist gesture (like the only black person in Indigo league having a homeless single father and a ton of siblings, his father selling rocks for a living) and a variety of religion without people being judged for it, like a character in Sun and Moon worshiping an idol, something you don’t see any other characters do. I believe, and I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling this newest character in Pokemon Journey’s is going to wind up being the first LGBTQ main character we’ve seen in the show from stuff I’ve read and some of the gestures he makes towards Ash, and from some reviews I’ve seen some people believe ‘Go’ or ‘Gou’ is transgender, but then again I’m only on like episode 4, but there are some hints here and there.

if you're a dumbass dick

Fucking society has officially gotten on my last nerve.

Everyone’s on this girls rights movement, but if you take a step back and look at this from an outside view, this isn’t an equal rights movement anymore, girls are working for domination.  I’m not saying girls shouldn’t have rights, but I am saying they shouldn’t have this much fucking power either.

Lemmy elaborate here; Ever heard people say “you can’t hit a girl”? Did you know that goes against gender equality? If males and females are equal, than if a girl hits you, you have every right to hit her back and vice versa, she shouldn’t be able to play the victim card.  Now you may say “Felidace you dumbass, you shouldn’t hit people to begin with”, to which i agree completely, but, allow me to take you back to elementary school for a minute. Remember that rule that we were always told but took for granted, “treat people how you want to be treated”? Yeah we should start taking that to heart.  If you don’t want to get punched, or kicked, or yelled at, or bullied; DON’T FUCKING DO IT TO YOUR PEERS! Karma’s a bitch hunny, and it’s real name is Equality! If you treat people like shit, they should be allowed to be equally as bad to you, because if you  treat people that way, you must really want to be treated the same. It shouldn’t matter if you have a pussy or a dick. you work hard, you get your money. you be an asshole, you better prepare to get that attitude right back in response.  I’m sick of this two-faced insanity.  And by the way; THIS GOES FOR RACE, GENDER IDENTITY, AND SEXUALITY TOO! Just because you’re a few shades lighter or darker than someone, doesn’t mean you’re better than them. Just cause you’re attracted to the apposing gender doesn’t me your better that others. Just because your attracted to the same gender doesn’t mean you’re better than anyone. Just because you have gender dysphoria doesn’t mean you have more rights than others. 

And here’s a bonus; Heterophobia and Racism against white people ARE REAL! if you hate white people, congrats, YOU’RE RACIST! If you’re LGBTQ+ and you hate straight people, YOU’RE HETROPHOBIC! Both are just as bad as any other shorts of racism or homophobia/transphobia

Here’s a tip for you all;