It’s days like these that make me hauntingly aware of not only my own identity but how others view my identity. I have occupied this earth as an African American female for 23 years and every day seems to be getting increasingly harder. The air seems harder to breathe, my chest tightens more frequently, my head pounds with anxiety and my feet no longer touch the ground. At many times I feel as though I am floating – transitioning from one place to another, talking without saying anything, hearing without listening, existing but not living.
Friday morning I watched as my newsfeed was bombarded with information. Information regarding a decision that touches every inch of my identity. I watched as my IPhone relentlessly lit up.
The words shown across my screen “Roe v. Wade has been overturned after 50 years.”
And just like that, whatever hope you still had left seemingly disappears.
It’s days like these that make you question quite literally everything. You question your existence on this earth, your purpose in society, your perception of others, of yourself, of our country. This is not the life my mother imagined when she immigrated here with the promise of a brighter future. Where has that bright light that she once saw disappeared to?
I do not know what the future holds for myself and the other femme identifying people around me. But what I do know is that being a woman has saved my life and it will save my life today. Being a woman has given me purpose, community, friendship and love. If you are a femme identifying person, if you are loved by a femme identifying person, this is your fight as much as it is mine.
I will fight for your freedom if you fight for mine.
Let’s Take Action
Here are the “13 Trigger Ban” States and organizations you can support in these states with credit to @themeteor on Instagram:
Arkansas Abortion Support Network
Northwest Abortion Access Fund
Kentucky Health Justice Network
Justice Through Empowerment Network
Kennedy Daniel
Kennedy (Ken) Daniel is a proud Los Angeles native with a background in film photography, modeling, content creation, brand marketing, and content strategy. She is so excited to be joining the JUV Consulting team as the Director of Brand. Kennedy’s journey to brand marketing began at the University of Southern California where she collected a B.A. in Communications in 2021. In college, Kennedy proudly led the “I Am That Girl” club during her senior year. Her certification in the art of Council (a Native American technique of communication and conflict resolution) from Snap Inc. allowed her to effectively lead her club members through difficult conversations regarding race, gender, identity, mental health, and life on campus.