Society won’t let us forget it's not on our side. But these three moments prove that when nobody else got us, we got us.
Free Breakfast Program: Unlike the government, the Black Panthers weren't about to let Black schoolchildren go hungry. They created a free breakfast program that fed thousands of children, and the positive impact on their learning ability was immediate. The program also forced the government to implement school breakfast programs nationwide.
All-Black Ambulance Blueprint: In the 1970s, ambulances were unheard of until Peter Safar stepped in. Until then, anyone needing emergency care was shuttled to the hospital by hearse or station wagon by police officers without medical training. Safar created an all-Black paramedic team, the blueprint for today's emergency care services.
Georgia Gilmore's Secret Kitchen: While Civil Rights leaders held meetings at Holt Street Baptist Church during Montgomery's bus boycott, Georgia Gilmore sold them fried chicken sandwiches. She arranged for Black women to contribute secretly to the movement, selling pound cakes and sweet potato pies, without jeopardizing their employment. The proceeds funded an alternative Black-run carpool system that helped our people get to and from work and run errands until the boycott ended.
There is power in moving through the world, knowing we're riding for each other. We've already done incredible things together. Let's keep going.