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She died fighting for justice. Let this queer, black feminist inspire you to act.

On March 14, 2018, the world was stunned by heartbreaking news about a tireless feminist activist.      

Photo by Mídia Ninja, used with permission.

Afro-Latina city councillor Marielle Franco was assassinated in a drive-by shooting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The beloved Brazilian's brutal killing sparked outrage in her country and was condemned by human rights groups.


"She was already standing out in terms of debate, leadership capacity and intellect," Franco's social sciences course tutor Ricardo Ismael told The Guardian.      

Brazilian feminists were devastated by Franco's assassination. Photo by Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images.

In a beautiful call to action, actress and philanthropist Viola Davis asked her Instagram followers to remember and stand with Franco's mission.    

The proudly feminist Afro-Latina politician was a revolutionary public servant and activist. Unbothered by the status quo of politics, Franco rose in popularity in politics. When elected in 2016, she won the fifth-highest vote count among council members. As a member of the far-left Socialism and Liberty party, Franco ran on a campaign that advocated for poorer Brazilian communities, feminists, and LGBTQ communities. She led an unapologetic march to freedom, justice, and equity for all Brazilians and continued that mission once in office.  

Though Franco is gone, her work has forever changed her country and will continue to influence activists and revolutionaries around the world. Here are four things to remember about her work and life.

1. She worked tirelessly to empower black Brazilians and other marginalized communities.  

When Franco was killed, she was leaving an event that focused on the empowerment of black women. Franco publicly supported causes centered around black women, indigenous people, and other marginalized communities in Brazil. She ignited supporters that had grown weary with corrupt government officials and crippling inequity that disproportionately affected black Brazilians and women by not only campaigning for them, but focusing her policy work on them once elected.

2. She fought police brutality.

The unabated brutal police force in Brazil has long been criticized by human rights organizations and activists around the world. According to the state government, in January 2018, 154 people were killed as a result of police action in Rio state, a 57% increase from January 2017. Franco was adept at fighting the heightened police brutality in Brazil and getting activists involved with effectively challenging the militarized state. She also criticized extrajudicial killings and spoke out against them until her death.            

Photo by Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images.

3. As a queer woman, she supported LGBTQ communities and women's rights.

Franco was an openly lesbian woman, making her leadership in Brazilian government even more inspiring. Franco was an ardent supporter of gay rights and fought for LGBTQ safety and equality. She also was a champion for women's rights, fighting against gender violence and for reproductive rights for Brazilian women.            

Photo by Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images.

4. She advocated for impoverished Brazilian citizens.  

Poverty has devastated many of Rio de Janeiro's citizens. According to the IBGE (Brazil’s government statistics bureau), 16.2 million people (8.5% of the population) live on less than R$70 per month — the equivalent of around $1.30 per person per day.    

Franco grew up in a favela, a low-income neighborhood of Brazilian that has been riddled by brutal violence and chaos. Brazilians who live in favelas are often surrounded by unspeakable violence, such as stray bullets and brutal over-policing. Before working in government, Franco completed social work in favelas and fought for more equity and less police brutality in those communities.    

Franco spent her life fighting to make her community and the world a better place for those who've yet to find peace and equity in it.

As a black, lesbian feminist who was able to reach government official status, Franco's death was not in vain. Her memory should serve as an example of why serving others is so important. Say her name and continue fighting for her causes by advocating for the world's most vulnerable and disenfranchised people.    

Bri James and her messy (not dirty) home.

It’s hard to keep your home clean when you have a child, but when you have four, unless you have a live-in maid, it’s completely impossible. There is no dishwasher fast enough to keep up with the dishes in the sink and no magical point where all four children have it together enough to put their toys away.

The problem is that if you take your eyes off the prize and let a day go by without cleaning up, you’re practically drowning in chaos.

TikTok user and stay-at-home mom Bri James (aka @themessymama4) did the unthinkable and let her home go four days without tidying up and shared the incredible mess with everyone on TikTok.


"I know I'm going to get roasted," she says in the clip, "but ... this is what happens when two really lazy adults have four kids and don't clean up after themselves."

The clip shows cutlery on the floor, empty packets everywhere, dishes piled a mile-high in the sink, and clothes and toys strewn everywhere. The house looks like the parents went away on a permanent vacation and left their kids to fend for themselves.

The video was praised by a lot of parents who are tired of seeing mommy influencers with spotless homes and children in matching linen outfits. Finally, there was a mom on TikTok they could relate to.

"I'd MUCH rather see you clean your realistic house than watch another blonde clean an already clean countertop," Meghan Sanders wrote.

TikTokker Its_not_that_serious put things in perfect perspective. "Dude, at the end of the day all of their fingers and toes are attached and feeling safe and loved you’re doing fine. Someday the house will be clean," they wrote.

"Having children is mentally and physically exhausting and you don’t always have the energy to clean every day," Rose added.

But not everyone appreciated Bri's slice of reality. Some people thought that her messiness was borderline neglectful and that she was setting a terrible example for her children.

"Set a good example for your kids. Make them help," carleebocciaa wrote.

"Without children = fine, your choice. With children (especially small ones) = completely unacceptable," ACZOgirly wrote.

Shortly after posting her first video, Bri got to work on the impossible task of cleaning up the entire house. Noticeably absent from the job were her spouse and four children. She appears to clean the entire place by herself.

She showed her cleaning prowess through a series of fast-motion videos.

@themessymama4

my butt does not look flattering in these Walmart lounge pants 🤦🏼‍♀️😅

Finally, at 9:30 p.m., Bri was done with most of the job, although she still had a bit of vacuuming to do and there were still some dishes in the sink. At the end of the job, she was exhausted. But she got the job done and that’s all that matters. It’s OK to let your house fall into disarray from time to time but eventually, you have to take care of business.

@themessymama4

I'm going to bed now. 🤣🥱😴

We’ll give TikTokker Sannon Martin the final word on this story because she hits the nail on the head. “Your home is exactly like mine,” she wrote. “Some days it’s a wreck and some days it looks amazing. That’s life. You’re doing great!”


This article originally appeared on 03.05.22

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