Fear. Anger. Hopelessness. Shame. Embarrassment. Guilt. Hate. These words describe the feelings of a Mississippi-born Black girl. It is strange that Mississippi, a state that is the “land and home of the free” and “home of the brave”, has so many people feel like they are being held hostage by our “home”. Why was a 5-year-old asking her why she couldn’t play in her class with the white children? An 11-year old optimistic girl was sent home from school for her Bantu knots being too distracting to other students. She was shamed publicly for trying to connect to her native country. Her native land is foreigner to her than the earth that Christopher Columbus stumbled upon in 1492. A brilliant 16-year old girl had to be more scared than excited about receiving her driver’s licence. A resilient 23-year old woman had to be afraid for her life when she stood up against 400 years of murder and rape, torture, lies and deceit in a place she was supposed to call home. According to Merriam-Webster, “home” is defined as “a social unit that is formed by a family living together.” I would feel refreshed every day and excited to breathe in the Mississippi air. It has a unique twang that I can’t find anywhere else. I thought to myself, “Boy! Am I proud to call that place home!” The joy quickly vanished and was replaced with a sense of disappointment. It was because the air I was breathing was still the same as the air I was enjoying, but it was also the air that kept a symbol for hate, prejudice and torture alive. How could a place that has made me who I am today as a young, unapologetic Black woman be represented by something that is historical and current and goes against everything I am? Passion. Purpose. Vision. Passion and purpose. These are the words that drove me to fight for change. Many people have asked me how and why they got involved in the June protest. The truth is that I didn’t know the answer until the night before. When I tried to write the speech for the next day, I couldn’t find the words. What did I do? I shut down my computer. I shut down everything and took a moment to be with myself. Because of the pace and hustle of the week, it was difficult to take the time to reflect on why. After twenty minutes, I finally got to the computer and began typing. After thirty minutes of typing, I was done with my speech. Although I wrote the words on the paper, I was still emotional when I read them. You never know what you are thinking and feeling until you let go of everything and allow your soul to speak. This is where passion and purpose, vision, and purpose come from. My speech at the protest stated that passion is what keeps you awake at night, what makes you get out of bed each morning, and what brings you to this point today. My passion was for the state flag in this case. I woke up every night because of the anger at how the flag was used as a symbol for hate. I woke up each morning to the drive to change the flag. I was motivated by the hope that the youth could bring down the flag. For many years, I struggled to find my purpose in this life. But the journey has shown me that it isn’t just one aspect of purpose. My passion for civil rights and social justice is what made me realize my purpose. This gave me the inspiration to make a difference in the world. Hope. Faith. Light. Love. Optimism. Change. If you had told me last year or two days prior that the Mississippi state flag would be taken down, I would have explained why I believed it would. But it probably wouldn’t. Despite speaking in front of over 3,000 people about the changes that were coming to Mississippi, I had doubts. It was impossible for me to believe that this would be possible in my lifetime. Sometimes I am still surprised that the flag pole is gone. If the Mississippi people approve the new flag on November 3, 2020, then I might finally feel some hope that Mississippians will be able to experience the true meaning and value of home for many centuries. We will one day be able all to work together for a better Mississippi. Editor’s note: Mississippians can use our platform to create essays on race. This is the third essay in the series. You can read the first essay by Kiese Lamon and the second by W. Ralph Eubanks. Click here to view our extended editor’s notes about this decision. Taylor BreAnn Turnage is from Byram, Miss. She has been the executive director, treasurer and fundraising chair of the Tougaloo College Chapter NAACP over the years and is currently the state president of the Mississippi State NAACP Youth and College Division. On the campus of Tougaloo College, she is an active member in Gamma Psi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Taylor is determined to improve the lives of all people.