Lemnhemstudios

The South is beautiful and it’s complicated,..

I can’t visit and admire the beauty of the South [of the US] without acknowledging the history of slavery rooted in its soil.

I feel deeply for my Black brothers and sisters in this country. While progress has been made, there is still so much work to do — to repair, to heal, to confront what was broken.

U.S. history can be brutal. Sometimes it feels easier not to think about it at all. But looking away doesn’t undo it.

I admire and respect the strength of Black communities. They built this country - its infrastructure, its economy, its institutions, its culture - and they continue to shape and elevate it today.

I know everyone is busy surviving their own lives. We’re all trying to take care of ourselves and our families. But at the very least, we can let go of the judgments and discrimination placed on Black people. Many of the ideas used to justify racism — including so-called “scientific” claims created to rank human beings — were constructed to rationalize cruelty and ease guilt. They were never truth. They were tools of power.

No one can change the past. But justice doesn’t end there. Black Americans deserve reparations, meaningful support, and at the very least, true equality — not as a favor, but as a baseline.

The South is beautiful, and it is complicated. Maybe love for a place - or a person — means seeing all of it: the light, the shadow, and still choosing honesty 🖤