Madison Butler 🏳️‍🌈🦄

I know your newsfeeds have gone back to normal, but change has not happened. This was not enough.

One month of social activism will not dismantle 400 years of physical, emotional and mental oppression.

Also, it’s been over 130 days and Breonna Taylor’s killers are still waking up and having coffee with their families, they are still living normal lives. They murdered a Black woman and nothing has changed for them.

I don’t want a black square, I want her murderers arrested.

I don’t want a banner on your website, I want Black women to be protected.

I don’t want a hashtag, I want to live.

I want consequences for the people who kill us.
Equality isn’t enough.
Equity isn’t enough.
We deserve to be protected.
We demand justice.

That’s the tea.

#blacklivesmatter #blackgirlmagic #blackexcellence #dei #diversityandinclusion #dobetter #isaidwhatisaid #thatsthetea

PSA:

Not respecting and mocking someone’s pronouns doesn’t make you funny or edgy, it makes you an asshole.

Why be transphobic when you could be quiet?

That’s the tea.

#blackgirlmagic #blackexcellence #dobetter #isaidwhatisaid #thatsthetea #blacktranslivesmatter #dei #diversityandinclusion

They aren't people's preferred pronouns, they are just their pronouns.

Using preferred in front of it implies that there is some choice in the matter.

Pronouns aren't up for debate.
Identities aren't up for debate.

I am admittedly not the warm and fuzzy type.

However, today calls for some warm and fuzzies.
My partner came out this week as non-binary, and will go forward using the pronouns they/them.

I am so incredibly proud of how strong, determined and absolutely fierce Reese Byrne (They/Them) is. They have always been this way but it warms my typically icy heart to watch them bloom into the person they were meant to be.

We should all feel whole in our own bodies.
We should all feel welcomed to be ourselves.
People who are 'different' do not need to change, society needs to change, our hearts need to change.

Our idea of 'normal' needs to change.
We all deserve to exist in our own skin without shame, guilt or fear.

Radical self love is a form of resistance.

Bonus tip: I may have heard there's a queer podcast coming from us in January 2021. Stay tuned.

#thatsthetea #isaidwhatisaid #blackgirlmagic #blackexcellence #blacklivesmatter #dobetter #dei #diversityandinclusion #iaintsorry #blacktranslivesmatter

requiring doctors notes in order for people to use sick time is ableist, elitist and harmful.

pass it on.

I always have the receipts.

As a Black woman, I feel compelled to keep every receipt, document everything I do, preserve every paper trail. I delete nothing, I throw nothing away.

Why?
Because I know I will always be asked to prove myself, regardless of the scenario.

When Black women talk about the racism, homophobia or other abuses we deal with, people demand to see the receipts.

Society doesn't believe Black women.
Society doesn't believe our lived experiences.
Society will always trust the abuser before the abused.
Society doesn't trust our skillsets
Society doesn't believe we are capable of greatness.
Society continues to make us jump through hoops to prove our validity.


Normalize believing Black women.
Normalize protecting Black women.
Pass it on.

#blackgirlmagic #blackexcellence #dobetter #isaidwhatisaid #thatsthetea #blacklivesmatter #diversityandinclusion #dei #protectblackwomen #iaintsorry

Earlier this week, I had someone tell me that I would be more successful if I wasn't “out“. Ultimately this person told me being Black was hard enough, I shouldn't be gay too.

This rhetoric is harmful, & can be deadly.

Queer folx should not have to live in fear of who they are.
Queer folx should never question if their identity will harm their career.

I'm super jazzed to be on the January cover for The Unleashed Voice, a magazine centered on the Black LGBTQ community.

If my own journey has taught me anything, it's that I am committed to ensuring that people know that they can show up.

My mission is to ensure people know that you don't have to fit in to a box in order to be successful.

Regardless of what society wants I show up every day, queer and Black AF and i want y'all to show up too, as whoever you are.

The secret sauce to being successful is no longer going to be being white, straight and cis.

However, sometimes you have to build something better, build something bigger, build something louder, so that's what I'm doing. Stay tuned.

Corporate spaces were never intended for those of us who don't fit in boxes, so it's time to dismantle the box.

link in comments.


#LGBTQ #BlackLivesMatter #ThatsTheTea #BuildingBetter #BlackGirlMagic #DEI #DiversityAndInclusion

Being able to be silent about politics is privilege.

Vote- our lives depend on it.

Reminder:

I’m not going to argue the validity of anyone’s existence on this platform.

I’m not going to argue the validity of my life.
My Blackness is not up for debate.
My queerness is not up for debate.
My partners are not up for debate.
My life is not up for debate.
I am not going to argue about why your religion should dictate anyone’s existence.

People’s identities are not topics we can debate on.

How people love is not up for debate.

Pronouns are not up for debate.

I am just going to donate to human rights campaigns instead.

I recently posted about transphobia and homophobia and the post received over 800k views.

The comments are riddled with hate. I won’t return that hate but I will make donations in the names of those who went out of their way to hurt people.

For every homophobic comment I’ll be donating to The Trevor Project and for every transphobic comment I will be donating to National Center for Transgender Equality.


Bonus tip: if your religion requires you to attempt to shame people for just existing online I suggest rereading that book you claim to love and investing in therapist.


#dobetter #isaidwhatisaid #thatsthetea #diversityandinclusion #dei #blackgirlmagic #blacklivesmatter #lgbtq #protecttranskids #iaintsorry

Calling out racism, homophobia, transphobia and hate is not an attack. It is accountability.

It is the protection of marginalized groups.
If you feel attacked, I encourage you to unpack why.

Black Lives still Matter.
That's the post.

#BlackLivesMatter #blackexcellence #blackgirlmagic #dobetter #isaidwhatisaid #dei #diversityandinclusion #lgbtq #thatsthetea #iaintsorry #protectblackwomen #queeraf

Just a reminder,
It's still not acceptable to be a racist, homophobe or xenophobe--regardless of what you read online.

Your racism disguised as patriotism is still just racism with a nationalist bow.

I know it's been a minute since I reminded y'all, but--
fire racists.
fire homophobes.
fire transphobes.
fire xenophobes.
fire the people in your orgs who cause harm.

That's it, that's the post.

When the system doesn't work for everyone, you have to rebuild it.

This system was never meant for us, so we're dismantling it.

We are so excited to launch our virtual queer community Triple B Community and podcast ByeByeBinary

The future is non-binary and representation matters.
We wanted a space to talk about life as queer folx, and not the queerness the media portrays. We wanted a space to safely talk about pleasure, love, life, pain, the highs, the lows and all of the things that make us who we are.

Our goal is to create conversations around dismantling heteronormativity and the societal barriers we face as queer people.

Our mission is to create the community centered on the acceptance we wished we had from our families, friends and society.

No censorship, no taboos. no fetishization- just queer realness, safety and radical inclusion.

We’re done letting heteronormativity ruin the party.
Come join us. 🌈

Find us on social:
Instagram + Twitter: BinaryBye
Facebook: Bye Bye Binary

Website + Teaser link in comments.
Bonus: I swear in the teaser, I'm not sorry.

#ByeByeBinary #QueerAF #DEI #DiversityandInclusion #RadicalInclusion #ThatsTheTea

Hot tip:

Stop attempting to invalidate the lived experiences of Black people because they are dissimilar to your own.

Instead of gaslighting someone into believing their feelings aren’t valid, lead with empathy.

Listen to understand rather than respond.

Instead of demanding emotional labor of marginalized people, use google, it’s free.

You do not get to determine the lived experiences of others.

Just because you woke up safe in your bed this morning doesn’t make Breonna Taylor’s murder go away.

Just because you have survived a police interaction doesn’t bring Sandra Bland back.

Just because you can jog through your neighborhood without a worry doesn’t justify Amaud Arbery’s murder.

Normalize believing Black people when they share their lived experiences with systemic racism

If you can drive cross country without worrying about where to stop or if you’ll get pulled over, or if you’ll make it home- understand, that is a privilege.

If you can exist without fear, period, that’s privilege.

#blacklivesmatter #blackgirlmagic #blackexcellence #dobetter #dei #isaidwhatisaid #thatsthetea #protectblackwomen #lgbtq #diversityandinclusion

In 2023, we shouldn't have a n*zi problem but we do.

Last night while sitting at a red light, I was next to a group of people holding trump flags and flashing nazi hand symbols.

Just a regular tuesday night in the Ihop parking lot, I suppose.

I keep hearing that yt men feel like they're under attack, but they're the same ones who feel safe enough to stand on the side of a major intersection highlighting their hate-without interruption, while people drive by and beep.

and I'm not currently in Texas, this is in a “blue“ state.

This shouldn't be normal, but it is.
Hate has been a normal part of American history since its birth.

We often read history books, and say “never again“, but it is never “never again“.

It cannot be “never again“ while hate is allowed to thrive in our society, in our government and in our policies.

How can we expect history to not repeat itself when so much of the country sits with their hands firmly pressed against their ears when we talk about oppression, when we talk about racism, when we talk about anti-semitism.

“Never again“ must start with us.

We say things like “hate has no home here“ but hate has always been the landlord in this country.

This work cannot just be about those who look and live like you, this work has to be about dismantling the systems that harm all of us.

The work doesn't end when we, ourselves, have a seat at the proverbial table.

The work doesn't end, period.

No one should feel fear when they leave their home.
No one should feel as if their voice is silenced by the masses.

“Never again“ has to start with us.
Safety is a basic human right.

Hate exists in every corner of our society, not just within the lens that we view the world.

We must shine a light onto every dark shadow, not just inside our own lives.

White supremacy is the monster under all of our beds.

The anti-semitism isn't just “stuff on the internet“, it is real life, it is violent.

There is no longer space for neutrality.
Silence is the tool of the opppressor.

We can't all change the world but we can call out our friends, family, acquaintances or random people who seek you out on their behavior.

Justice must look like accountability.
Safety must look like accountability.

If you feel threatened by the idea of people calling out racism, anti-semitism or homophobia, I encourage you to unpack why you feel that way.

This isn't about censorship.
This is about basic humanity.

Be a better human.

Bonus: Making a political candidate a personality trait is very weird energy.

This apparently is a PSA that I need to post on LinkedIn-

-If you comment wild nonsense on my posts, I am most likely going to blog about it.

-If my posts make you uncomfortable, I’m not sorry about that- I’m not here to make you comfortable.

-You don’t have to like it, it’s actually really okay if you don’t.

- Your employer can see when you post racist/sexist/xenophobic crap.

-My views are my own and I’m very obviously a black woman and my viewpoints reflect that.



No tea today, just common sense.

#diversityandinclusion #DEI #PocInTech #HumanAtWork #blackgirlmagic