You are Freedom Walker.

– Freedom Walker (she/her)

As the turbulent feelings ebb and flow during Freedom Walker’s (TinaLynn Dickerson) night in a former slave cellar, she drifts off to sleep, only to awake to the voice of an unknown entity who awards her a new name and helps her see the current state of racism in America.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“The name is announced to me again: ‘You are Freedom Walker. You are Freedom Walker.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Preoject’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

…it will be at least 150 years before a Negro will be elected President.

In 1954, Odell (he/him) told his third grade teacher that he wanted to be the President of the United States; she told him it would be at least 150 years until that happened. Today, Odell is the Executive Director of the Library at the A.J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center in Kingston, NY, and he reflects on his childhood through adulthood to find him standing strong and feeling like the leader he always dreamed of being.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“Ms. Kaufman says it will be at least 150 years before a Negro will be elected President.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Preoject’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

I am the Sunday dinner after church.

– Shawaine (she/her)

Shawaine started in a place where she was in the majority; but now, she lives in a place where she’s the minority. At 7, she left Jamaica and moved to the USA, where she quickly learned that racism, ignorance, and fear are synonymous words.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“I am the Sunday dinner after church. I am the whoopings given for disrespect. I am the curry goat and chicken. I am the ‘sit still, or I’m a whoop you.’ I am the ‘girl, you better not test me.’ I am the fried chicken and watermelon. I am the Saturday cookouts; the loud shouts, lip smacking, feet stomping, head shaking, hand clapping black girl you make me out to be.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Preoject’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

I am a miracle.

– Alex (she/her)

“Who will be there for me?” Rejected by her mother, 16 year old Alex carries that question with her everywhere she goes. When she is shot while taking a group of kids home from the community center, she wonders, “Who will be there for me?”

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“I am a miracle. I am that black girl who got shot who called his name and shouted out to the top of my lungs Psalms 121:1-2: ‘I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? The Lord, the Maker of the Heavens and Earth!'”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Project’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

I use my last $1.25 to buy a cup of tea.

– Tamika (she/her)

Tamika, a straight-A student living up to the pressures of being a preacher’s daughter, finds herself shunned by her church community when she becomes pregnant as a teen. In her story, we find out how her love for her son inspires her to live through hard times and regain control of her life narrative regardless of what anyone else is saying.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“I walk out of the DSS building pushing my one-year-old child in the middle of winter with nowhere to go. I find a coffee shop a half a mile away and I use my last $1.25 to buy a cup of tea so I can sit there.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Project’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

My father never said I love you

– Martin (he/him)

As a result of growing up in a violent household, Martin craves positive relationships with men but has a hard time trusting them until he meets Tom, a chairman of Goldman Sachs. Tom takes Martin under his wing and sees something in him that he can’t yet see in himself.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“My father never said “I love you,” so I annoy my children with lots of I love you’s. He hardly supported or attended my events, so I do my best to never miss any of my children’s events. He put strangers before his own family. I will always put my kids first.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Project’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

Seeing her this powerless brings out my compassion tenfold

– Shaniqua (she/her)

As a small child, Shaniqua’s mother became too ill to care for her, forcing her to move from NYC to Virginia to live with her tough-loving grandmother known as Ole Battle Ax. In her story, we learn how Shaniqua went from wishing her grandmother were dead to naming her second-born child after her.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“I realize that the tables have turned, now her daughters are the ones with power and this is the payback. Even though I have been angry at her for a long time, seeing her this powerless brings out my compassion tenfold.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Project’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

She says, ‘Thank you for being a good mommy. I love you.’

– Rita (she/her)

Rita becomes pregnant at 15 and has 4 children by the time she’s 24. She never feels like a good mom until her youngest daughter is diagnosed with fatal cancer. It’s only then that Rita learns what she is truly capable of.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“One day, she calls me over and asks for a hug. I go over and hold her. She says, ‘Thank you for being a good mommy. I love you.’ Then, she squeezes me tight and says, ‘I’m alright, I’m with grandma now.'”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Project’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

As a child, I needed a gun to protect myself.

– Tyrone (he/him)

At 14, Tyrone starts carrying a gun to protect himself. Today, as the Commissioner of Human Rights for Ulster County, he’s dedicated to protecting his community.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“As a child, I needed a gun to protect myself. As a man, I dedicated my life to protecting my community.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Project’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism

My name is both connection and severance.

– Kwame (he/him)

Kwame shares a story about his long and complicated relationship with his name through his journey from Brooklyn to New Jersey, and most recently, to the Hudson Valley.

#blacklivesmatter #blackstoriesmatter #defendblacklives

“My name is both connection and severance, marking me as part of something I can never truly know.”

Want More Black Stories Matter Content?
Stories have the power to increase visibility, raise awareness, change people’s hearts and minds, and inspire people to take meaningful action. We are making every effort to ensure all of our Black Stories Matter content is easily accessible, widely consumed, and is accompanied by tools to deepen the impact.

Listen: The TMI Project Story Hour, Season Two: Black Stories Matter, launches this fall. Learn more and subscribe to our podcast HERE

Host: a Black Stories Matter viewing party and discussion from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

Share: TMI Project’s mission with Black Stories Matter is to elevate the underrepresented stories of the Black experience in America – the full spectrum – the triumphs, humor, beauty, and resilience. Click HERE to submit your story to be featured on the TMI Project blog.

Learn: Resources for anti-racism activism