the backlash—some would call it “whitelash”—that occurs every time a movement for racial justice takes place.

“It is not the mere presence of black people that is the problem. . . . It is blackness that refuses to accept subjugation, to give up,”

“But it’s something about the spirit of justice that raises up like a war horse. That horse that stands with its back sunk in and hears that bell—I like to say the ‘bell of freedom.’ And all of a sudden, it becomes straight, and the back becomes stiff. And you become determined all over again.”

“He remembers that with each modest advance the white population promptly raises the argument that the Negro has come far enough. Each step forward accents an ever-present tendency to backlash.”

Racist backlash follows every gesture toward racial justice.

They will not surrender their power willingly.

Advocacy is an intentional action taken in support of a specific justice cause.

There is a relentless drive in human beings, both inward and transcendent, that demands dignity and propels our progress—it is the spirit of justice. It is the conviction to continue the struggle no matter the odds or the obstacles. It is the heartbeat of people who hunger and thirst for righteousness. It will not concede. It will not let the evil

historical appropriation is most tempting to those whose political, theological, and economic lineage not only ignored racial justice but actively supported racist beliefs and actions.