Last weekend, #Hubbs and I attended an annual Holiday Party at the famous University Club on 5th Avenue in New York City. This image is by far my favorite one one of the night!
Black people are often not seen like this. Our experience is marginalized into a small “one size fits all” box. The game changing thing about social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and whatever is hot in the streets right now is that it democratizes media meaning it gives each of us the chance to shape our story through pictures and words. To demonstrate the breadth of who and what we are, the places we show up and the triumphs, joys and struggles we go through and overcome.
This image is not only beautiful because the people are “hashtag extra fancy” in their black tie regalia. But it’s particularly wonderful because these black couples stand under portraits of men who probably never considered our unlikely stories. This picture reminds me of Justice Thurgood Marshall’s quote:
None of us got here where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps. We got here because somebody — a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns — bent down and helped us pick up our boots.
Happy Holidays everyone. May we all find time to spend moments with people who have or continue to impact our lives in positive ways.
Xoxo,
Jackie
