A moment of silence.

It has certainly been a tough time for many, many people. I don’t say this lightly at all. I could not, and did not want to post the usual this week. Because nothing is the usual, times are very much changing because we are immensely struggling to find even the slightest chance of justice, as a nation.

There are no right words to say at the moment. Here is where I share my ‘typical’ content, but I sincerely want to share my thoughts and feelings about recent events. I don’t have the answers. However we owe it to our black friends, brothers and sisters that we put in our work to help in any way we can. They need our help, because their lives matter first.

Just this week alone I’ve learned so much through social media, and the news. Learning about what’s going on, what the black community has been through is a just small start to an ongoing fight. But that isn’t enough – we have to actively learn. I hope we continue to acknowledge and most importantly, educate ourselves as much as possible about the black community. The fight against racism, systemic oppression, our nations black history, and how much farther we need to fight to get justice.

I’ve linked below some useful resources and helpful videos, I’ve started to do and things we can all be doing to support to become better allies.

• Justice for June: this Google doc includes so many ways how we can learn and help, just by allocating 10, 30 or 45 minutes/day. We’re on Instagram at least 45 minutes/day, it’s a way to make a useful matter of your time.
• Black history documentaries: top documentaries to learn about black history; how far we’ve come and how much more we must push for justice.
• Donate to organizations that need the supporting for the black community: Black Lives Matter, a Bail Fund – a list but you can search for your area as well (and why this matters), NAACP, ACLU
• Sign a petition: there are so many petitions like on Change.org you can support and donate, among Justice for George Floyd, Justice for Breonna Taylor, Justice for Ahmaud Arbery.

All lives don’t matter until black lives matter – as much as this has been said, it cannot be any truer. While some people have been put behind bars, that is not nearly enough. There are way many more wrongly convicted black people behind bars, and many many more whose lives have been taken. Where we are now is just the beginning.

As it relates to the food community, I follow several bloggers and sites that have provided a wonderful list of black-owned bloggers we can support.

• Food52
• Half Baked Harvest
• Paleo Running Momma

I’ve been following them, whether it’s on social media or email subscriptions. Now is the time to listen. I love to hear stories about why so and so started a food blog, or why they got into food to start with. The most common shared stories originate from food bringing family together. It’s the one thing we all need right now, more than ever. With more support and determination, I pray we move forward the the path to victory, and getting closer to becoming better allies to our black brothers and sisters.

Love,
Rina