Nicole Pearson is a member of the Madrid Chapter of Democrats Abroad Spain and a panelist for the event, "All Power to All the People: Black Organizing from the Civil Rights Movement to #BlackLivesMatter" this Sunday, February 21 at 5:30 pm. She has been an Activist/Organizer for over 20 years

I was born in the Bronx but when I was young my family moved to Anchorage, Alaska.  That move made me acutely aware of myself as a Black person. Most importantly, I learned that being Black came with a host of astonishing assumptions and stereotypes. I failed at every turn because I could not fulfill my white and black peers expectation of that blackness. 

As I was struggling with my peers, my parents were fighting the schools to make sure my brother and I were tested for placement in gifted and advanced classes, as well as providing materials on slavery and Black history from their personal library to ensure that everyone understood Black history was more than lazy, ignorant Blacks being freed by a white man only then to have MLK Jr. give us our Civil Rights. From a young age I learned, I had to actively resist these lies about Blackness and Black people.

I went to Howard University to immerse myself in African American history and empower myself to interrupt and correct gross historical inaccuracies wherever I found them.  Post college, I took that knowledge into a social justice context by becoming a community organizer. I developed and implemented action issue campaigns in low-income communities of color in Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado.  Every issue we addressed, from lead poisoning or police accountability, had it's roots in the violent social, political and economic disenfranchisement of Black people. This disenfranchisement is precisely what Black political movements have sought to address.

In our forum, "All Power to All the People: Black Organizing from the Civil Rights Movement to #BlackLivesMatter", we will learn about that history and talk about the urgent changes we need to make. I do hope you come and join us this Sunday.

For more information about this event and to get involved in the conversation, join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

photo credit: Molly Em Ce

Stevie Evans is a member of the Madrid Chapter of Democrats Abroad Spain. She has been a teacher and Activist after teaching in inner city schools in Oakland, California, which gave her first-hand experience of the issues that face people of color. Stevie is a panelist for the event, "All Power to All the People: Black Organizing from the Civil Rights Movement to #BlackLivesMatter" on Sunday, February 21 at 5:30 pm. 

As a white person, I have benefitted from a long history of advantages that I was privileged enough to not fully recognize until I decided to unearth their roots. I am still digging to understand their reach to this day. For many years I had a feeling this was the case, but it was never so evident until I started teaching in a place like East Oakland, California.

It was in this community where I met the most resilient kids and adults I’ve ever had the honor to know. I saw first-hand their relentless struggle against poverty, violence, and institutionalized racism within the educational system, as well as the housing, financial, and the criminal (in)justice systems.

We’re living in a time where in every indicator of success Black people are (still) underrepresented and in every indicator of risk they are (still) overrepresented. How can we continue to accept this? In the words of human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, “we cannot be fully evolved human beings until we care about human rights and basic dignity...all of our survival is tied to the survival of everyone.” And that’s what is at stake here; it’s a question of survival.

The Democratic Party and our candidates need to understand the urgency of this issue and the history behind it. We must advocate for the kind of change we want to see in our country.

At our Madrid Chapter event on Sunday February 21st, I will be speaking about how racism still permeates within our educational system, the long-term effects this has, as well as what white people can do (as well as avoid) in order to be effective allies in this struggle. I hope to see you there.

For more information about this event and to get involved in the conversation, join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.