COVID-19

I don't think any of us could have anticipated that a virus would come and literally put the whole world on lockdown and collapse the global economy. This is the kind of thing you read about in history books that you wouldn't imagine happening in your life time. To be honest, when coronavirus was in China, I wasn't too worried as previous other coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS didn't have this kind of impact globally. In March 2020 is when we actually saw the severity of this disease and many countries took action and closed their borders and ordered a lock down.

Coronavirus causes COVID-19. What is scary is that black people and other ethnic minorities in the UK & USA are dying  at a higher rate from this disease. Like many people I was wondering why. There could be a long list of possible reasons: ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poorer neighbourhoods, this means less access to healthcare, increases in poor diets, and are more likely to be essential workers so they are exposed more.

There will be  no cure for COVID-19 as the pharmaceutical industries do not believe in cures because they profit from people being sick. Usually when you go to hospital for an illness you are usually "treated" by taking medications that "relieve your symptoms",  not cures. For example, with all of these advanced medical practitioners there is still no cure for the common cold. Next time you buy cold medicine check the packaging and you are likely to see the word "relief" not cure. I am also  highly skeptical about any vaccines because of negative side effects they can have but I won't go into that in this post.

I have been watching many documentaries regarding viruses and infectious diseases, doing a lot of my own research and speaking to people in the medical field. I believe that the best way to defeat this disease is by strengthening your immune system.  This way, if you were to catch it you will have a better chance to fight it off. Here are my tips on  what you can do to improve your immune system, most of these things mentioned can be bought at health food stores such as Holland and Barrett's or online. Disclaimer: I am not a medical expert or nutritionist so  feel free to research these things for yourself.

Cleaner Air

- Keep your windows open to allow ventilation. As pollution has gone down considerably the air is much cleaner

- You can burn sage as it is known to kill over 90% of airborne bacteria and disinfects the air

Herbs , Minerals and Vitamins

Mullein - it is known to help clear the respiratory system
Sea moss - contains 92 of the 102 minerals our body requires
Bladderwrack - contains the remaining 10 minerals
Elderberry - contains antioxidants which help to improve the immune system
Black seed oil
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Zinc


Foods
Citrus Fruits i.e. oranges, lemon, lime
Ginger
Tumeric
Garlic
Cinnamon
Manuka Honey

Drinks
Water - drink a lot of water especially spring water or alkaline water
Green Tea

Things to avoid
Processed foods
Dairy
Too much sugar - this can feed viruses and bacteria
Too much alcohol
Smoking

Noughts + Crosses

I recently binge watched the series Noughts and Crosses, which is based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Malorie Blackman.  The concept of this story is unique. We know through history that Europeans colonised other countries and oppressed its people, including Africans. Now imagine a world where this is flipped, where Africans (referred to as Apricans on the show) colonise Europe and oppress Europeans instead. This story explores this narrative. The black Apricans are 'Crosses' and the white Europeans are 'Noughts'.

This series is set in Albion (England). The black Crosses are the ruling minority. They are in the positions of power, they live in the richest areas, they have the best schools, and have all the privilege. Aprican culture influences everything in Albion including the clothing, architecture of the buildings, music and hairstyles. The white Noughts on the other hand are poor, have no power, do not have as much rights, and live in the poorest areas.  They do not have access to the privileges that the Crosses have.

The story follows the lives of Sephy and Callum. Sephy is a black Cross who is the daughter of a Politician. She is born into wealth and privilege. Callum on the other hand is a white Nought, who is a  the son of a domestic worker that is employed by Sephy's family. Callum's family are poor and endure the struggles of being white. Callum and Sephy end up falling in love with each other in a world where interracial relationships are illegal.

One of the themes explored in the series is Police brutality. (Spoiler Alert) This is shown in one of the early scenes, when Callum, his brother Jude and friend Danny are at a social gathering with other Noughts.  The Police (who are black)  come and use their position of power to abuse  Callum and Danny. Danny gets severely injured by the Police and ends up in hospital.  Throughout the series, it shows that there is always a heavy police presence when Noughts have any kind of public gathering, including a vigil they have for Danny, and a Nought festival called midsummer (the Nought equivalent to Notting Hill carnival). In a latter episode, Callum shares how he has been stopped and searched by Police around 300 times which appears to be the norm for Noughts. Death in custody is also explored when Callum's father is killed in prison, however the officials report that the death was a suicide. This is a narrative which is true for many black men who are consistently stopped and searched by Police more than their white peers and are more likely to die in custody.

Another theme explored is black beauty. In the first episode, Callum is completely captivated by Sephy's beauty. Sephy is a dark skinned black woman with black features. She always wears her hair in its natural afro state. Even the billboards in Albion promote this standard of beauty. There has been no influence of European beauty standards. There are some Noughts who wear braids and curls to assimilate with the Crosses. Watching this made me wish that African beauty standards in the mainstream would exist in today's world. European beauty standards have been so ingrained in us that  characteristics associated with Africans e.g. kinky hair, broad noses, dark skin are equated with ugliness, whereas lighter skin, straighter har, and thin noses are equated with beauty. This is why there are some black women who go to great lengths to try to erase their blackness in the name of beauty.  Unfortunately,  when black beauty is promoted in the mainstream it is usually someone who is mixed or is racially ambiguous.  To see a white man on the show so enthralled by the natural beauty of an unambiguous black woman is something we rarely ever see in real life.

Everything in Albion society is catered to the black Crosses.   The concept of nude colours is briefly addressed. There is a scene when Callum cuts his finger and Sephy puts a plaster on it. The plaster is brown and you can see the contrast between the brown plaster and Callum's white skin. It made me realise how something as minor as the  plasters we use in real life, match the skin tone of white people and do not cater to those of us with darker skin (though there are a few brands that have created plasters for darker skin).

The Crosses are openly racist to Noughts.  The education system promotes the idea of Noughts being inferior while Crosses are superior. One of the biggest newspapers in Albion publishes stories which portray the white Noughts as 'thugs' and paints them in a negative light (like we see newspapers do to black people in real life). The racist term for white people is "Blanca" which is equivalent to the word "nigger". The racist term for those who are mixed is "halfer". In this society, white people are required to sit at the back of the bus .  In the series, Callum wishes to go to Mersey Point which is an all black military school, that is now allowing white students to enrol.  There are a lot of black Crosses who are angry about this and start protesting outside the school. This is reflective of the all white schools being desegregated in the USA and white people protesting when black students started attending. Though the Prime Minister of Albion appears to be progressive and is trying to give rights to the Noughts, Sephy's father disagrees with this and takes action to get her removed. As Sephy's relationship with Callum develops, she begins to become aware of the oppression suffered by the Noughts and challenges a lot of the beliefs she grew up with.

There is a contrast between Callum and his brother Jude. Though they both want the conditions of Noughts to change, they believe in very different methods. Despite being oppressed, Callum doesn't have hatred towards the Crosses but wishes to create change by enrolling at Mersey Point. He wants to change the system from the inside (however his views do shift later). Conversely, Jude is frustrated and has a deep hatred towards the Crosses, he would rather use violence to change the conditions of the Noughts.  Jude joins the Liberation Militia which is a group  that are fighting for the liberation of Noughts from the Crosses by using violence.  The media refers to the Liberation Militia as a 'terrorist organisation'. (It appears that the Liberation Militia to a degree, is based on the Black Panther Party). It seems that Callum and Jude's approaches to liberation  are loosely based on Martin Luther King (Callum) and Malcolm X (Jude).

Unfortunately we still live in a world where racism still exists against people of color. There are some white people who struggle to grasp the concept of racism against black people. There are some others who believe that racism against black people is justified, and find it difficult to empathise with black victims of racism. I hope this series  shows these people how racism looks like towards someone that looks like them, then maybe it would open their eyes and give them a better understanding of racism against black people. I would definitely recommend watching the series as it deeply explores the impact of racism in all aspects of society and how this affects the lives of the oppressed.

Pressures of Millennial women

Being a millennial  female, we have far more opportunities than the women that came before us. We  are allowed to be educated, we can have careers and make our own money, we can start our own businesses plus more. We have the choice to be independent if we want to. However, despite living in the 21st century, there are some people that only find value and worth in a woman if she is married and/or is a mother. It seems that if you are not a wife and mother in your 20s/30s and beyond, there is something wrong with you. You can be an ambitious  woman  who works hard and achieves a masters, PhD, OBE or a nobel peace prize etc but if you are not married and don't have a child then all of your accolades seem redundant.

This is something which really annoys me. I hate the fact that some portion of society defines a woman's worth and value by her relationship status and whether she is a mother. We have to understand that in previous generations, women were not educated at a high level or allowed to work to make their own money. Therefore, the only option for women was to be a wife then have children.  That is why it was the norm for women back then to to be married by 18 and have multiple children and be housewives as there was a lack of options.

As you are aware times have dramatically changed. Therefore, we can't expect the women of today to be like the women of the past. The average age of becoming a wife and mother has increased. This is due to women establishing their careers and wanting to achieve their goals prior to marrying or having children. There is nothing wrong with this. I think it is important as women to work and build on yourself,  find your own identity, have life experiences, make mistakes and grow. You are your OWN  person. 50% of your mother's  DNA and 50% of your father's DNA made you, according to maths 50%+50% = 100%. Therefore you are already a whole person. You are not 50%, therefore you do not need someone to complete your existence.

People that don't know how to mind their business like asking the following questions:

Why are you single?
You then get yourself a partner then they ask: When are you getting married?
You get married then they ask: When are you having children?
You have a child then they ask: When are you going to have another child?

Some people are never satisfied, they always have something to say about your life. In my opinion I think these questions are insensitive. A women may be single because she finally got the courage to leave a toxic/abusive relationship and needs time to heal. She maybe also be single because  she wants to focus on accomplishing her goals. A woman may not be married because she hasn't found the right person, or she is not ready for marriage, or she just doesn't want to marry. A woman may not have a child because she is having difficulty conceiving and may have had a miscarriage. You never know what someone is going through behind closed doors, or the silent battles they are dealing with. Asking the above questions to a woman may trigger a lot of hurt and negative emotions.

We need to stop approaching unmarried women in their 20s/30s and putting pressure on them to marry and/or have children. I believe that all things will happen in God's timing, so do not rush the process. If you rush to get married you may end up settling with the wrong person. This would lead to divorce, which is a long, expensive and emotionally draining procedure (especially if it's contested). Having children is a lifelong commitment, when you are up at 2am  tending to your baby who won’t stop crying, those people who put pressure on you won’t be there. Learn to live your life for yourself. If you do not want to marry or have children, then that is perfectly fine! I used to allow pressure from people get to me which made be feel down. I then made a decision to put myself first and I am a much happier person because of it. Remember you are unique and amazing by yourself, you do not need a man or a child to define you!

When They see us

Like many people, I watched the miniseries on Netflix “When they see us” which is based Central Park 5 case. Prior to this mini series ,I had heard about the case but wasn’t aware of the details. All I knew was that 5 black teenagers were falsely accused of raping a jogger in Central Park, and years later the real rapist came out, and they were subsequently exonerated.

I decided to watch the series. It was very difficult to watch, especially the last episode. There were 6 victims in this series and a number of perpetrators. The victims were the jogger and the 5 innocent boys who were wrongly convicted. There were a number of perpetrators including the prosecutors, the detectives, the police, the prison guards, as well as the rapist. There were consistent blunders from the beginning until the end of this criminal justice process. The first huge blunder was the coercion and coaching of the young boys without their parents or legal counsel present (especially for a rape charge!). In the UK it is compulsory that minors have an appropriate adult when being questioned by the police. I’m assuming it is the same in the states. Everyone has the right to a lawyer to obtain legal advice, as the boys had no prior contact with the police or criminal justice system, they had no knowledge of the processes, and if a lawyer was allowed to be present , they could have been advised accordingly . I urge people, especially young black man to research your legal rights, as authorities will take advantage of those who don't know their rights,. Another blunder is the Police using physical force against the boys to make them give false confessions while denying them food, water and toilet breaks.

Further, the media released the images, names and addresses of these young boys. Usually, when minors are involved in a criminal investigation, the media cannot publish their identities. However, the media painted these innocent boys in a horrible light and conveyed a false narrative of them being a "wolf-pack". It is sad that Donald Trump paid $85,000 for an advert requesting for the death penalty against these boys, and he is now the President of the United States.

The criminal justice system is based on the premise that you are “innocent until proven guilty”. However, if you are a young black/Latino man it becomes you are “guilty until proven innocent”. These boys were treated like criminals without any evidence linking them to the crime. 

The DNA found on the scene did not match any of the boys, their coerced stories did not match, the timelines did not match, the victims blood was not found on any of them, none of the boys even knew each other apart from 2 of them. From a legal standpoint, this was a very weak case. Some of those involved in bringing the case had doubts. However, the boys were still prosecuted thanks to Linda Fairstein. What shocked me was that the jurors who were ethnically diverse (including 4 black jurors) had found the boys guilty.

The story that hurt me the most was that of Korey Wise. He had a learning disability, speech impediment and was illiterate. Despite being the oldest of the boys, he was the most vulnerable. Due to him being aged 16, he was tried and sentenced as an adult (I find this extremely disturbing) . He served the longest prison sentence despite not being on the original list of suspects. All he did was be a good friend to Yusef Salaam and accompany him to the police station. He never knew that this small decision will change the course of his life forever. Watching Korey being repeatedly abused in prison was very difficult to watch, he kept being sent to prisons which were far away so it was difficult for his mother to visit him. His abuse was so bad that he had to be in solitary confinement for his safety. He was all alone with no one to help him except for that one prison guard at one particular prison. He can never fully recover from the severe trauma that he has been through, it has damaged him. No amount of money (even the low $41m) can compensate for the pain and suffering that these boys went through.

The criminal justice system had failed them: the authorities had failed them, the police had failed them, the prison guards had failed them, the jury had failed them, the detectives had failed them, the Prosecutors had failed them.The miscarriage of justice that these boys had faced was abysmal. The sad thing is that the rapist, Matias Reyes was a serial rapist, and he had raped a woman just two days prior to the rape of Trisha Meili at Central Park. The Police had his name. In the following months he raped more women including one pregnant woman which he murdered. His DNA was taken and he was charged and sentenced for multiple rapes. However, the police did not carry out their due diligence to realise that Matias was the central park rapist even though he was a known rapist to the police. If the police carried out proper investigations, that pregnant woman who was murdered, would have been alive today and those innocent boys would not have been suspects in the first place.

I wonder how many innocent black men are in prison for crimes they have not committed. I also wonder how many innocent black men have received the death penalty. The media criminalises black men and coveys the narrative that black men are dangerous and are criminal by nature. This creates fear within people, who actually become scared of black men. Black men are not humanised but are demonised. I commend Ava DuVernay for humanising these victims and portraying their stories of what they had went through.

To Korey Wise, to Yusef Salaam, to Kevin Richardson, to Raymond Santana, to Antron McCray, you did not deserve the pain that this world gave to you, you did not deserve to be hated by the world at such a young age, you did not deserve to have your lives robbed from you, you did not deserve to be victims of a racist society. However, through your pain and all the tears you have cried you have shown strength, you have shown resilience, you have shown perseverance. You have not allowed the evil in this world to turn you into monsters. You grew to become good men, who continue to fight for justice for those innocent men who have suffered miscarriage of justices. I just want you to know that you are loved by the world and we support you 100%.