[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="1174" img_size="full" alignment="center" style="vc_box_border" border_color="white" 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] Dream [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Dream  /ˈdrēm/  word. - indulge in daydreams or fantasies about something greatly desired. See also. "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. [/vc_column_text][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="#ffffff" thickness="3"][vc_empty_space height="90px"][vc_column_text] Dear friend, [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="15px"][vc_column_text] I once watched an episode of The Boondocks where Huey imagines what might have happened if Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't die on that April day in 1968. Instead, he fell into a 32-year coma and woke to see the world as it is now. King finds himself in a lost world and at the climax of the episode, he launches into a tirade about how we lost track of the Civil Rights dream. It's at that moment the people remembered what our foremothers and forefathers stood for and they took action. At the end of the episode, Huey's final...

[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="1142" 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] My History is Now [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]My History is Now  /mī ˈhist(ə)rē iz nou/   phrase . - 1: an individual’s intrinsic link to the past, present, and future. 2: the idea that every action has historical significance. 3: to urge someone to make the most of the present time.[/vc_column_text][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="#ffffff" thickness="3"][vc_empty_space height="90px"][vc_column_text] During college, my grandpa wrote a note to motivate me to keep going. At the end of his message he wrote, “Some things don’t come over night.” That last line really stuck with me. I couldn’t wait to ask my grandpa the questions I’ve asked so many others these past few months. He has a wealth of knowledge. I don’t dive into that wealth as much as I should. We sat down one late Sunday evening to talk of many things. My grandpa and I. Two sides of the same coin. Him, the past. Me, the...

[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="700" 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 Power [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Black Power  /ˈblak ˈpau̇(-ə)r/  slang. - a political slogan used to describe the mobilization of the political and economic power of American Blacks especially to compel respect for their rights and improve their condition. The Black Power movement was prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s, emphasizing racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions to nurture and promote black collective interests.[/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 Kemet [/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 Kemet Coleman, otherwise known as Kemet the Phantom. I am a musician, urbanist, and Kansas City enthusiast. I grew up in Kansas City right around 75th and Troost -- literally grew up on the dividing line in Kansas City -- I lived in a world that was kind of on both sides, you know? I attended Kansas City Public Schools,...

[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="519" 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 Lisa [/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]Well, I'm originally from Moberly, Missouri, which is a really small town in Missouri. We moved to St. Louis when I was about 12 or 13 years old. And then I went to Clark Atlanta University, graduated with a mass communications degree, mass media arts degree, and I started my television news career in stations in St. Joseph, Missouri, then Decatur, Illinois, and then, ultimately, Kansas City, which was a city that I really wanted to move to. I fell in...

[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="945" 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] Fo' Da Culture [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Fo’ Da Culture  /fȯ dē-ˈā ˈkəl-chər/  slang. - "Do it for the Culture" is usually a statement requesting that someone carry out a specific action for benefit of their shared culture.[/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 Tah'ki [/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]Well, my name is Tahki Bannister. I am the youngest of five siblings. Both of my parents grew up in the New York area on the East coast. They've been married for 45 years. I am here, currently, in Kansas city. The way that I got here was via California. I basically grew up and became a young man in Kansas City -- from the age of 19 until now. So I've been in Kansas City close to over 15 years. I came here through a football scholarship and going through college. I played two sports...

[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...

[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="961" 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 Power Salute [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="30px"][vc_column_text]Black Power Salute  /ˈblak ˈpau̇(-ə)r sə-ˈlüt/  slang. - the raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a symbol of solidarity and support. It is also used as a salute to express unity, strength, defiance, or resistance. See also. Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics, of the Black fisted afro-pick.[/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_column_text] Interview with Patrick [/vc_column_text][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 width="1/6"][/vc_column][vc_column width="4/6"][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 Patrick Lee Riley Jr. I was born in Kansas City, Missouri. I was born to Dionne and Patrick, Sr. Shortly after...

[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="616" 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 Isaiah [/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]Well, my name is Isaiah Smith. Originally, I was born in Topeka, Kansas. I lived there until I moved in 2000. In Topeka I was heavily in the church crowd. I was always in the church with my parents -- my dad was a deacon and he was one of the choir directors there and he was always recruiting people to be in the choir. So, music was another big thing that I grew up being heavily involved with. And my mother was involved with art. So, I always had...