2020 isn't cancelled

What if 2020 isn't cancelled? 

What if 2020 is the year we've been waiting for?

A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw--

that it finally forces us to grow. 

A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us

from our ignorant slumber. 

A year we finally accept the need for change. 

Declare change. Work for change. Become the change. 

A year we finally band together, instead of

pushing each other further apart. 

2020 isn't cancelled, but rather

the most important of them all. 

-leslie dwight

as soon as I read this, I let out a sigh of relief. it was what I needed. I don't know about you all, but I've become overwhelmed by the amount of information and posts, black squares, videos of looting, videos of peaceful protest, organizations to donate to, books to read, netflix series to watch, black businesses to support...... pphhhhewwww... my mind felt like it was being pulled in 1 thousand and 1 different directions. I felt helpless, and "muted." 

truth is: I've read the books, I've watched the series, I've had those uncomfortable conversations. I've corrected friends, I've confronted family, I've shared a little bit of my insight with white friends who swore that when Obama got elected racism ended. in college all the classes I gravitated toward revolved around social justice, without even realizing it I was 1 class away from being a Black Studies minor. because those are the classes I was always interested in, because so many of my most loved friends from high school are black, because my high school/college sweetheart was black. because I'll always remember the phone call I got from him moments after he had been placed on the ground similar to George Floyd, roughed up in Inglewood because he "fit the description." he was scared, I was scared. we haven't talked for years, but even writing this now, it makes me angry and emotional that he went through that.

and all this is not to say that I know it all, faaaaaaar from it. I'm always learning, and growing, re-educating myself, and having more of these conversations, especially in my travels with friends from other countries who truly don't understand the black plight. posting on social media is great, but let's make sure we follow that up with REAL actions, meaningful actions, educating ourselves, so we can help educate others. 

and in the midst of all this, we have tropical storm amanda who decided to show up in my mother's motherland, the tiny nation of El Salvador. hundreds of shanty homes have been swept away, in a community that has been hit by devastation after devastation for so many decades. 2020 is really something, isn't it?

but 2020 isn't cancelled. so we're rolling up our sleeves, and getting back to business. we've placed another round of orders with our artisan partners who are so excited and relieved to be getting new orders because tourism in Bali is non-existent, so there is very little opportunity to generate income. 

for the next week 10% of ALL SALES will be distributed across organizations to aid the initiatives of the Black Lives Matter movement and to help families in El Salvador rebuild their homes. it's the least we could do, and we hope to have the opportunity to do more as our business grows. 

thank you for reading, thank you for caring, thank you for supporting these causes. 

Black Lives Matter LA: https://www.blmla.org/

El Salvador x Vos: https://magosdigitales.net/esxvos_sv/