jess

“Symbolism gives folks hope. But I’ve come to learn that symbolism is a threat to actual change—it’s a chance for those in power to say, “Look how far you have come” rather than admitting, “Look how long we’ve stopped you from getting here.”
― George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren't Blue

“Anytime I’m dealing with something personally, I look to see which ancestor before me already discussed it. I don’t let their work dictate my every action, but I know that I am in a much better postion when I am informed by their work. I use my history as a tool to fight against my marginalization.”
― George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue

“You’ll find that people often use the excuse “it was the norm” when discussing racism, homophobia, and anything else in our history they are trying to absolve themselves of. Saying that something was “a norm” of the past is a way not to have to deal with its ripple effects in the present. It removes the fact that hate doesn’t just stop because a law or the time changed. Folks use this excuse because they are often unwilling to accept how full of phobias and -isms they are themselves—or at least how they benefit from social structures that privilege them.”
― George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue

“You sometimes don’t know you exist until you realize someone like you existed before.”
― George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue