The Silence Between the Storms: How Decades of Unspoken Bigotry Gave Rise to the Present—and Why We Choose to Speak
- Beads of Change
- Jul 13
- 3 min read
There’s a lie we’ve told ourselves in America: That if hatred isn’t loud, it must not be present. That if a neighbor smiles and waves, they can’t possibly harbor prejudice. That silence equals peace. And that our silence in return was respect.
But silence can be camouflage. And for decades, it was.
Between the fall of Nixon and the rise of Obama, something insidious crept into the foundation of American life. The overt bigotry of the 1960s and early ‘70s didn’t vanish. It simply went underground. As public discourse shifted- nudged by civil rights movements, pride parades, and more diverse leadership- many who clung to racist, homophobic, or xenophobic beliefs didn't discard them. They simply learned to be quiet.
They were teachers. Policymakers. Clergy. Employers. They “behaved.” And because they weren’t burning crosses or screaming slurs in the street, their beliefs went unchallenged.
That long silence gave rise to the illusion of progress. But it was a false calm.
What we witnessed in the backlash to Barack Obama’s presidency, and later the violent surge of Trumpism, was not some sudden rupture. It was a reveal; a loud return of beliefs that had been nurtured quietly at dinner tables and in boardrooms, behind tight-lipped smiles and polite company.
The illusion of progress is dangerous, especially when cruelty is disguised as legislation. The recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” is a striking example—a name that masks devastation. Beneath the branding lies the largest rollback of Medicaid and food assistance in decades, the defunding of LGBTQ+ mental health programs, and the erasure of gender-affirming care for vulnerable communities. It’s not a loud attack—it’s a silent withdrawal of support. And that’s precisely the danger: policies that hurt the most marginalized while claiming fiscal responsibility. This is what happens when bigotry learns to smile for the cameras. At Beads of Change, we name what others won’t. And we act, however we can. This week, through each bracelet sold, we choose to rebuild what that silence seeks to destroy.
This matters to us at Beads of Change, because we believe in speaking. In showing. In doing something. Everyone who voices their story of hope and humane empowerment adds to the social progress necessary to make the history of our species a good one.
We believe that charitable giving can and should challenge injustice. That empowerment requires awareness, not just good intentions. That every bracelet we make carries a weight, not just of stone, but of story. A story that says: “We see what’s happening. We choose not to be silent.”
Our bracelets aren’t loud. But they are not passive. They are built with purposeful intention, created to honor those fighting battles—internal and external—against systems that continue to marginalize.
We are not here to sell gemstones. We are here to make meaningful connections and fund transformation in communities that have too often been targeted by the very systems meant to serve them.
Right now, we are donating 100% of proceeds from our rainbow gemstone bracelets (July 13–17) to LGBTQ+ mental health organizations, because silence is what allowed this community to be erased in policy.
We cannot afford that silence anymore. Not in law, not in culture, not in commerce.
If you believe in impact over profit, in resistance through creation, and in the power of naming what was once left unspoken, then we invite you to walk with us.
Wear your pride. Speak your truth. And never mistake quiet for peace again.
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