Standing Tall Against Racism

After I graduated college I first discovered blogs. Late to the game, you could say, certainly. Desperately searching for other women who I could look to who looked like me as I was rebuilding the shell of a self I came out of college with. As the blogging bubble hadn’t really begun to pop yet, there weren’t many. What I do recall is, being so impressed and inspired by Alicia Jay of Tall Swag. She is the true OG of tall blogging. 

I’ve been doing my own soul searching, reflecting on the past couple of weeks of positive change for our country finally having the courage to address the racism woven into the fibers of our history. 

Growing up in a suburb outside of Milwaukee, I knew and understood that Milwaukee was one of the most segregated cities in the country. As I grew up, I learned that when they put in Highway 43 they displaced many, MANY, people out of their homes which contributed directly to the invisible line that continues to keep Milwaukee’s Black and minority populations in poverty. 

We’ve long shared with you our love for Milwaukee, but I do NOT love this about Milwaukee. 

I referenced in our post yesterday about our feelings as Christians on loving everyone. Just to be very clear – Black Lives Matter. That’s not up for debate with me. We did share a couple of stories last week, but obviously they disappear after 24 hours. A lot of people are sharing information at an incredible rate, sometimes making it difficult to keep up. We have been doing our best to take it all in, uplifted by the number of voices finally being heard. We chose to listen and learn rather than add another white voice to the mix.

It is our belief that we are created to be equal and that there are systems in place that have made that impossible, as evidenced by the disparity in Milwaukee and too many other large cities. I would never be so bold as to say I had no idea that any of this was going on. There have been too many conversations with people I love and care for, for me to feign ignorance. Nor would I want to, as that would be the ultimate disrespect to what they’ve experienced.

So, with that in mind, I wanted to circle back to the blogging community. It feels weird when you’re normally here writing about how happy you are that clothes finally fit you, to now attempt to address racism. Another example of white privilege right there. The point I’m trying to make is that I think the tall blogging community, which is pretty small (compared to the rest of the fashion blogs etc) has some incredible tall Black bloggers who have led us to be more confident and embrace ourselves for many years.

We want to encourage you if you aren’t following any Black women blogs: seek them out and diversify your feed. As tall women, we already know that God makes us in all shapes/sizes/colors. We are all made in His image and these are some seriously fabulous ladies who have long been championing us all to stand tall. We literally would not be here today without them paving the way and that is no exaggeration.

TALL BLOGS

Alicia Jay of TallSwag, Bree Wijnaar of The Tall Society, Rajahnique of Tall N Natural, Akia Danielle, Tanasha of Pretty Tall Style

INSTAGRAM PAGES

J.Enovy of TallDistrict, Briy Gilgeous, Tall Tay, Truly Adetola, Ijaykheavens, Iman Noir, Meagan Brown, and please comment below if we missed anyone and can add them!

So while I acknowledge my discomfort in attempting to convey this message to you, I’d rather stumble through this so you know we care than be forced to guess. While we will never understand, we stand with you.