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" As we look ahead to our very diverse future, BAJI plans to continue to be at the forefront, uniting black communities to attain racial, social, and economic justice for all. "
Opal Tometi
Justice
Look
Ahead
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" I often think of Audre Lorde and her saying that we don't live and we don't fight for one specific struggle. "
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" Implicit bias - our subconscious associations of race - permeates everything that we do. And we must pursue systemic accountability to fix it. "
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" In my own personal experience, I've had different family members who have been held in immigration detention because they've had some sort of challenge financially, and they were making difficult decisions, and that led to their immigration detention and, eventually, deportation. "
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" I was in awe of previous black liberation struggle leaders - Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. Black Lives Matter has been that. "
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" Our communities are reeling from poverty, from unemployment, from discrimination of all sorts and different interactions that they're having with the law enforcement, and education system, and so on. "
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" Let's demonstrate, illustrate, the ways in which our communities are being undermined time and time again, and make sure that the broader public and those in power choose to stand with us. "
Opal Tometi
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" The reality is that anti-black racism is a global phenomenon, and it looks different in each context, but if you look at the outcomes, if you listen and look at the experiences, you will see that it's clear, and it's happening across the globe. "
Opal Tometi
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" We came in as organizers before creating the Black Lives Matter network and project, and we are still organizers, strategists, political thinkers, and philosophers, so we actually have a lot ideas and a lot of really thought out strategies. "
Opal Tometi
Thought
Matter
Ideas
" If things aren't working for us, it is our duty to rise up. "
Opal Tometi
Rise
Us
Up
" Black people, we are fully deserving of the room and space to fully express our humanity. This is what Black Lives Matter is truly about. "
Opal Tometi
People
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" We can't continue to sit on our hands and sit idly by as people are being brutalized, disenfranchised, and left out of the system. "
Opal Tometi
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People
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" I think it's really important that we understand the ways in which blackness plays out, right, and discrimination against black people impacts different communities in different ways but ultimately leaves them undermined and really devalued in our society. "
Opal Tometi
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Black
Society
" I have three godkids that are just so gorgeous; I love them dearly, and they keep me going. "
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Love
Me
Keep
" I just look back at my time in college and think about how much my community activism and my work in neighborhoods really informed my actual academic career and beyond... It can provide a way better learning than the traditional classroom setting. "
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" Fortunately, the leadership of black immigrant communities has always been present in all black liberation movements from leaders like Marcus Garvey to Shirley Chisholm to Malcolm X and Harry Belafonte. We know this is our legacy. "
Opal Tometi
Present
Black
Legacy
" There was a time when my uncle was in an immigration detention center, and members of our community would take turns visiting him each weekend. That instilled in me the value of taking care of each other even if the systems aren't working in your favor. "
Opal Tometi
Weekend
Value
Care
" We have to start imagining a new reality - this will mean fewer police and more social workers and teachers. This will mean creating more economic possibilities and investment that preserves and does not displace our communities. "
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New
Reality
Start
" My mom, my aunts, and all the Nigerian women in my life have been so fierce and strong. I have only grown up around powerful women, so I have a strong sense of self and our power. "
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Mom
Self
Women
" Police cannot be allowed to continue aggressive, violent, and often unconstitutional policing with impunity. "
Opal Tometi
Aggressive
Police
Cannot
" President Trump is mentally incapable of imagining the humanity of anyone who looks different from him or hails from a different nation. "
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Nation
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" I challenge us all to have the courage of our convictions to fight for a fair, justice and inclusive society. "
Opal Tometi
Fight
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" Trump's racism has clearly driven his policy decisions during his first year in office - from his Muslim ban and his despicable treatment of DREAMers to his ruthless ramp-up of immigration raids and the callous termination of protections for Haitians and Salvadorans who fled natural disaster and violence. "
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" There are always groups on campus that are doing amazing things. I know when I was in college, I was a student at the University of Arizona, working on my bachelor's in history, and I got involved with a number of different groups that were connected to different social justice issues that I cared about. "
Opal Tometi
History
Amazing
Justice
" To fully understand the black immigrant experience in the U.S., we must understand it not in contrast to the African-American experience, but central to it. "
Opal Tometi
Immigrant
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" I'm really looking for an agenda that looks at safety for our communities beyond policing. "
Opal Tometi
Beyond
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Looking
" Civility is the recognition that all people have dignity that's inherent to their person, no matter their religion, race, gender, sexuality, or ability. "
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Religion
Recognition
" I believe that our communities can benefit if they know about and participate in the U.N.'s various human rights forums. "
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Know
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" I think the two-party system isn't working for us. And it hasn't worked for us for generations - let's be very, very honest about that. "
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Working
Think
System
" We deserve a multiracial democracy that works for all of us. "
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