My name is Mizzy and I’m A Mixed Girl In A Mixed Up World is my tag line. I use it to open and close all my videos, but it’s so much more then a tag line. It is my passion project. As a small child Dr. King became one of my heroes. I recall my father reading to us King’s life’s story. I would often daydream about what it would have been like to have been someone who marched along side him. I have always been someone who spoke her mind it often has gotten me in trouble. As the great civil rights leader the late John Lewis would say there is nothing wrong with getting in some good trouble. It has always been my plan if there was ever a second coming of the civil rights movement I would be there till the soles in my shoes wore out!! Unfortunately since 2010 I have been disabled. This made it impossible to protest the murders of unarmed black people by the police that have occurred in the last decade. I wanted so bad to be out there in the streets, exercising my Constitution given right to protest and make my voice heard. When Treyvon Martin was murdered I wanted to take to the streets along side my brethren. It broke me when another person of color was executed time and time again by the police. I had to watch the protests that would follow from my couch. I wanted to be involved but I couldn’t; I didn’t know how to from the couch.
As Covid ravaged the Unite States in spring 2020, we all watched in disgust as George Floyd’s life was snuffed out with a knee to the neck by a vile excuse for a man in blue. We all watched stunned as he defiantly looked in the camera as if he had no care in the world. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds George Floyd lay crying out for his mother with his life fading as his face was pressed into the cold concrete. I still can’t watch the whole video. As protests broke out all across the United States I had the itch to take to the streets but once again reluctantly abstained from going. Then I came across a post on my towns page on FB that a rally was being had in my small New Hampshire town. An ignorant man posted “Why have a rally we don’t have any black people here.” I respectfully schooled him on the fact our town did have black people and other people of color. He was extremely rude to other people but for the most part him and I had a cordial conversation. Unfortunately or oddly enough fortunately he did make the comment “Oh so we have one black person in our town.” I say fortunately because it made me decide seeing as I’m the only “black person” in my town I needed to go to the protest. I also wanted to get up and speak. Due to Covid my mother and I masked up then made our way there. I made sure to socially distanced as I lingered around the stage slightly nervous to ask to speak. I approached one of the organizers and asked if I could make a speech, she enthusiastically said “Yes of course”. I didn’t have a planned or written speech. I only had a few talking points that I wanted to make; besides that it was all off the cuff. I spoke freely and from the depths of my soul. I felt like I was pouring my heart out and left it on the stage. It was amazing to look out and see so many white people there to support Black Lives Matter! After all the speeches they marched around the Library. I stood off to the side so they all passed by me. As they did I yelled Black Lives Matter and Say her name for Breonna Taylor, another victim of police violence in 2020. They all chanted along with me, it was beautiful. I made my way to the street so I could protest with them. As the cars went by most of them honked, waved, and yelled Black Lives Matter out their windows. It was incredible to see how much our town supported this; I did not expect it. I would do my Black Lives Matter chant and they would call back. When I needed to take a break a small group of adolescent white girls took over chanting Black Lives Matter. It brought some tears to my eyes, giving me hope that maybe this next generation would fare better than we were doing.
After the protest I went home, it lit a fire in me. I wanted to do more but I knew I couldn’t because my body wouldn’t allow it. So for days and days I thought of what I would do. How could I make a difference when I couldn’t be out there to make a change. About a month later we had a candlelight vigil which was a lot smaller. I think the kids loved the aspect of yelling Black Lives Matter. The candlelight vigil was a little too tame for them. That day was a pivotal point for me. I was the first speaker up, when my speech was over I announced the next speaker. Before he started his speech he made an off hand comment that I was non-white; it implied he didn’t consider me a black woman. It bothered me and I stewed in it for a week. Alot of mixed children find it difficult to know their standing in the world. Not me; I’m a black woman. That is how society treats me and it is how I see myself. Yes I know my Mother is white but my bloodline from my fathers side is black therefore I m a black woman! All of this lit a fire under me. It made me come up with the idea for this blog. I decided to call it A Mixed Girl In A Mixed Up World almost to be like, yeah I’m mixed so what. I’m still black when I’m mixed. My skin is still a hue that is not accepted in society. I decided that I was going to share my story with the world and I would allow others to tell their stories through conversations that are much needed in this country. I felt I could show different people from different backgrounds and different perspectives that if you could show someone’s humanity you might actually see them for the first time and not see them for their color, sexual orientation, or their gender. I decided I want to have interesting conversations with interesting people. I would highlight how amazing we all are as individuals and how we can collectively change the world. I know right now it’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things but I feel like if I could change one heart, one mind its a start. Maybe I could make someone who is racist, bigoted, or just plain ignorant change their mind about someone they hate and see them as a person not just for the shell they live in. So I might be making a small contribution but I’m doing something to change the world. Come join me on this little passion project. I don’t know where it will end up but I can’t wait to hear all the stories that need to be told. I’m Mizzy an I’m A Mixed Girl In A Mixed Up world!
A Mixed Girl In A Mixed Up World 