BRIAN COURTNEY WILSON LAUNCHES #WeAreWorthFightingFor Campaign
buzzz worthy. . .#weareworthfightingfor
June
18, 2015 (Houston, TX) - Today it is Charleston, SC, but in the last
several months it has been Ferguson, Cleveland, Staten Island and so
many others. There is a constant barrage of images that continue to
devalue the African American community.
In
response to hate crimes, social and civil injustice and outright
killings of unarmed young men, Wilson wanted a way to bring people
together to share visual messages for our community and our young people
that WE are valuable, treasured and worth fighting for.
The multi-media #WEAreWorthFightingFor initiative
encourages parents, community leaders and pastors to write letters and
video messages to post on social media that will offer expressions of
our strength and unity. With the goal of creating an overwhelming show
of messages of love and empowerment, #WEAreWorthFightingFor
is a way to emphasize our importance and value despite the negative
images and stories that are proliferating the news in recent days.
In
the wake of recent events, Brian's feelings have run the gamut from
frustration to anger and to fear for his children's welfare. He wanted
to create a physical reminder that could be lasting and treasured so he
sat down and wrote a letter. Here's an excerpt to Brian's letter to his
son, Joshua:
I
am writing this letter because I love you dearly, and you are so
valuable and special to me. There has been a lot of news lately about
young black males being gunned down or killed by people in authority or
people who were afraid of them because of the color of their skin. ...
The explanations for these murders defy logic....Given this climate, I
am writing to affirm your worth not only to me but to the entire world
... You are destined to be a champion and a leader, and I want you to
shut out all of the images that have been crafted for profit and power
that contradict what I am telling you... Yes there will be pain, but it
will not defeat you. You will keep pushing past it and it will make you
stronger.
"This moment of transparency and honesty was needed not only for my children, but for many across the nation," said Wilson.
Join the #WeAreWorthFightingFor
campaign sending messages to our young men and women. Please write a
letter and/or record a brief video message to your child, or any young
person in your life (i.e. a nephew, a mentee, a sister, etc.) that
offers words of support, love and empowerment.
We will be kicking off the campaign on Father's Day (June 21st) and I encourage you to share the letter or video on your social networks using the hashtag #WeAreWorthFightingFor and #WorthFightingFor.
Ways To Join #WeAreWorthFightingFor:
- Write a letter to your child (or young person in your life or to your whole community). Describe the value that they have and affirm the many talents and gifts God has bestowed upon your children or write an open letter to your community expressing the importance of Black Lives
- Take a picture reading the letter to your child, your child reading the letter, or holding the letter, etc.
- Record a video stating the following below (10-15 secs): My name is (Insert Name) and this is my child (insert name). Today I let him/her know that regardless of what the media shows, he/she destined for greatness - join me and write a letter to YOUR child because together, we ARE worth fighting for
- Post the video on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with the hashtag #WeAreWorthFightingFor