Sixty years ago today, Rosa Parks sat down, took a load off, and unwittingly became the icon of the Civil Rights Movement.  For one year, African Americans boycotted the bus system in Alabama.  For one year, they protested, marched, and protested some more with their dollars and their sense.

Thanks to Rosa, and many who have come after her, African Americans have come a long way.  But, as evidenced by the #BlackLivesMatter Movement, we are no longer fighting to sit down, we are fighting to truly matter.

We are fighting to matter on our college campuses, in our textbooks, to our government, to the police, and sadly, to each other.

I say we take a page out of Rosa Parks’s playbook.  I say we learn a lesson from the brave men and women who came before us.  You see, sixty years later, we are still protesting, marching, and protesting some more.  But it seems we have a tough time protesting with our dollars, and, in some cases, our sense.

It is high time we take our dollars and make them work for our community.  It is high time we take our sense and instead of destroying our neighborhoods, we build them up.  Only we can reduce our incidences of black on black crime.  Only we can ensure our dollars circulate in our communities time and time again and leave a legacy of wealth for generation after generation.

Yeah, I know.  It’s not easy.  But, then again, when is any movement ever started on easy?

Click Here to Download a FREE Copy of the BMWK Generational Wealth Pledge for Black Families!

BMWK, what does Rosa’s sacrifice and the Black Lives Matter Movement mean to you? Are you ready to sacrifice and protest with your pocketbook?