[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="yes" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_single_image image="1079" img_size="full" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text] Black is Beautiful [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Black is beautiful  /ˈblak iz ˈbyü-ti-fəl/  phrase. - Black people are beautiful.  See also.   Black people, the 1960s Black is Beautiful movement[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Interview with Melissa [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tell me about yourself. What’s your background? [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]So I was born in Wiesbaden in Germany and I'm a military brat, so moved from Germany to the States a couple of times. My family finally settled in Kansas when I was 13, so I've been in Kansas and Missouri ever since then -- traveling from Leavenworth to Lawrence then KCK and now in Kansas City, Missouri. So being here in the United States was definitely a culture shock for me, coming from Germany. One, coming from military bases where there was so much diversity and then two, even in Germany the dynamics of race are different. And so in Germany I was, I wasn't...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="yes" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_single_image image="1069" img_size="full" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text] Do The Right Thing [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Do The Right Thing  /do͞o T͟Hə rīt THiNG/  phrase. - the title of a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. The story explores a Brooklyn neighborhood's simmering racial tension, which culminates in violence and a death on a hot summer day.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Interview with Korea [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tell me about yourself. What’s your background? [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]My name is Korea Gleason-Kelly...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="yes" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_single_image image="1060" img_size="full" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text] Yas Queen [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Yas Queen /ˈyas ˈkwēn/  slang. - an emphatic term of endearment, encouragement, celebration, love and/or show of support. The slang began in the 1980s and 1990s ballroom culture where LGBTQIA+ people of color used it to compliment each other.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Interview with Star [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tell me about yourself. What’s your background? [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Oh wow. Starting, I’m a single parent. I have a background in construction. I'm a master mechanic on trade -- sheet metal, HVAC work, as well as pipe fitting. I also have a nonprofit background. I run my own nonprofit organization,called Our Spot KC. So by day, construction...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="yes" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_single_image image="1026" img_size="full" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text] Hope [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Hope  /hōp/  word. - 1. want something to happen or be the case 2. a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen See Also. Barack Obama "Hope" poster, a 2008 image designed by Shepard Fairey[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Interview with William [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tell me about yourself. What’s your background? [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]I was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised mostly there. I finished school, however, on the East coast in Wilmington, Delaware, just outside of Philadelphia. And part of that was because of my lifestyle -- it kinda interrupted my young high school years. Then about eight years ago, I moved to Kansas City and I've been here, doing advocacy work, since. Between Kansas City and there, I started doing advocacy work well before then, but I've gone into a much higher gear and higher level of advocacy work since I've...

Slaying all day can sometimes be hard, but Rachel makes it always look easy. In this post, Rachel share the joys and pains of being a Black woman in America. She also discusses the bond between Black couples. ...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="yes" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_single_image image="1130" img_size="full" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text] Black Girl Magic [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Black Girl Magic  /ˈblak ˈgər(-ə)l ˈma-jik/  slang. - celebrating the beauty, power and resilience of Black women. Congratulate Black women on their accomplishments. The hashtag #BlackGirlMagic is a movement that was popularized by CaShawn Thompson in 2013.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column width="1/6"][/vc_column][vc_column width="4/6"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_separator type="normal" color="#a8438f" thickness="3"][vc_empty_space height="15px"][qode_elements_holder number_of_columns="one_column" switch_to_one_column="600"][qode_elements_holder_item vertical_alignment="middle" horizontal_alignment="center" advanced_animations="no"][vc_column_text] "You’re important in your own right. People need to value you because of who you are, because of your story. Because of your challenges. That's what makes you unique. You know? You wanna be different, you wanna be special. The fact that you’ve been able to overcome challenges - and this is what I’ve always thought - that made me smarter. That made me better because I could overcome things that a lot of people who were in the same position never had to overcome." - Michelle Obama. [/vc_column_text][/qode_elements_holder_item][/qode_elements_holder][vc_empty_space height="15px"][vc_separator type="normal" color="#a8438f" thickness="3"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][qode_elements_holder number_of_columns="one_column" switch_to_one_column="600" alignment_one_column="left"][qode_elements_holder_item...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="yes" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_single_image image="1111" img_size="full" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text] Black Boy Joy [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Black Boy Joy  /ˈblak ˈbȯi ˈjȯi/  slang. - the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one black boy desires. The hashtag #BlackBoyJoy emerged to challenge the way we view black masculinity in society.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column width="1/6"][/vc_column][vc_column width="4/6"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_separator type="normal" color="#0070b8" thickness="3"][vc_empty_space height="15px"][qode_elements_holder number_of_columns="one_column" switch_to_one_column="600"][qode_elements_holder_item vertical_alignment="middle" horizontal_alignment="center" advanced_animations="no"][vc_column_text] "At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished… It's about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It's about what you've given back." - Denzel Washington. [/vc_column_text][/qode_elements_holder_item][/qode_elements_holder][vc_empty_space height="15px"][vc_separator type="normal" color="#0070b8" thickness="3"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][qode_elements_holder number_of_columns="one_column" switch_to_one_column="600" alignment_one_column="left"][qode_elements_holder_item vertical_alignment="middle" horizontal_alignment="center" advanced_animations="no"][vc_column_text]Instead of highlighting the Black experience through an interview, today's Pick Progress post celebrates the many dynamic and brilliant faces that epitomize #BlackBoyJoy.[/vc_column_text][/qode_elements_holder_item][/qode_elements_holder][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/6"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][qode_advanced_image_gallery type="masonry" enable_image_shadow="no" number_of_columns="two" space_between_items="large" images="565,643,653,699,892,557,616,948,928,961,555,980,1116,1029,1007" image_size="full"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid"...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="yes" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_single_image image="1018" img_size="full" alignment="center" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text] Black Excellence [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Black Excellence  /ˈblak ˈek-s(ə-)lən(t)s/  phrase. - 1. viewing Black people or Black culture as an excellent or valuable quality. 2. the celebration of a Black individual or group when they do something outstanding or extremely good.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Interview with Nyla [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_empty_space height="30px"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tell me about yourself. What’s your background? [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Okay. Well, my name is Nyla Foster. I'm 31 years old. I was born and raised in Kansas City. I identify as a Black woman of trans experience. Professionally, I’m a youth case manager, a community organizer, and an artist. I also have a softer side of me,called Angel Iman, where I do trans performance and compete in pageantry. And I am the current Miss Black Trans International. The Black trans international pageantry system is a pageantry system that is bridging the gap between advocacy and pageantry and we advocate for Black trans...