#HowIResist Campaign 3

You must first accept yourself. You must first approve your own existence, in whatever form you exist. You must first realize that you do not need any validation outside that which you give yourself. You must end the fight you are fighting against yourself. – Kayode Ani

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#HowIResist

I resist with my voice and these hands that pay emphasis to speech.

I resist with my thoughts in written words sent out into the world.

I resist with my presence, six feet-four, in hostile spaces, where I can’t be ignored.

I resist because I won’t be dismissed. – Chiedozie

#HowIResist

I resist by telling myself that it doesn’t matter what rules they put up or how bad they portray my kind. I’ll always allow my heart to feel what is right; and what is right is LOVE. – Chris

#HowIResist

I resist because I am human. I’m free to be me. I’m free to love whosoever I want without fear. I’m free to bare myself to the world and not feel threatened.

I’ll resist till future generations of people like me can declare freely who they are or who they want to be, and not get judged or brutally punished for it.

We should all resist because we all bleed red in the end. – Chuka

By trying to navigate the ebb and flow of my day with dignity.

By being kind and conscientious but never forgetting who I am.

By ensuring I avoid letting pieces of me go in any futile search for heteronormativity.

By never forgetting to love myself and those who deserve my affection.

This is #HowIResist – Darius

I live my life full of fear. Fear of judgment, ridicule and abandonment. I’m afraid of the peril that lies outside this lonely little closet. Or perhaps, knowing this will be the release I’ve been looking for.

So I’ll take a chance…

That’s #HowIResist

By believing without a shadow of doubt that I’m human. I’m normal. And I have the right to love whom I love – and perhaps one day, to proclaim it to the whole wide world. – CJ