Black Lives Matter.
Originally written and posted on May 30, 2020.
George Floyd should be alive. So should Breonna Taylor. And Ahmaud Arbery. So should all the other Black lives that we know have been murdered by police and the countless names of those we’ll never know. And if anyone is more upset by the rioting that is happening than the systemic injustice, evils of white supremacy, and lives lost that have caused it – well, I think that’s telling.
Let me be clear: Black lives matter. No one should have to constantly fight for their right to live, to breathe.
I don’t know what to say right now. I know I have infinitely more listening, learning, and unlearning to do. I know that as a white woman I am complicit in the power structures that allow these atrocities to continue. I know that we can’t say, “This is not America.” Because it is, and it always has been. Some of us are just waking up to it, but Black, Indigenous, and other people of color have never had the privilege of that ignorance. I know we can’t even say, “The system is broken,” because the system is actually doing exactly what it was meant to do. Tragically. We need a new system.
Beyond personal conversations in the last few days and checking in with friends of color, I’ve struggled with what to post (or not) online. I don’t want to post something just to signal allyship and feel a little better or like I’ve done my part. I haven’t. I know that. I don’t feel better, and I shouldn’t. But I also know silence isn’t an option.
I’m learning what more I can do. How to adjust my work to center truly diverse perspectives. To vote differently. To show up and advocate for reform. To invest in the work of Black people and communities. To leave spaces in protest when there is not willingness to do the hard work of de-centering whiteness and pursuing justice.
There are lists going around with practical things we can do as white people. If you haven’t, please check those out. So far, I’ve taken the small steps of donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, finally pledging to Tori Williams Douglass on Patreon for monthly anti-racism curriculum called “White Homework,” and deciding to leave a learning community in which minority voices have been actively silenced.
I don’t want you to listen to me. Let’s listen to Black voices like: Ibram X. Kendi, Austin Channing Brown, Lisa Sharon Harper, Ava Duvernay, Michelle Alexander, Bryan Stevenson, Micky Scottbey Jones, Tori Williams Douglas, Christena Cleveland, Lanecia Rouse Tinsley, Dr. Cleve Tinsley, Rev Dr. William Barber, II, John Lewis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Stacey Abrams, Brittney Cooper, and those who have gone before them…Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, Langston Hughes, Nina Simone, and Octavia Butler to name a few. Who else are you listening to? Who’s teaching you how to move you toward action?
Finally, if you’re overwhelmed by suggested reading lists, but are up for a little more screen time right now, Netflix is home to 2 of the most important, heart-wrenching (and currently relevant) films I’ve seen. Here are the links:
13TH
https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741 (Full film now on YouTube as well)
WHEN THEY SEE US
https://www.netflix.com/title/80200549
And now, on its 1 year anniversary, there’s a brand new "Learning Companion Guide" for WHEN THEY SEE US you can download here:
https://www.array101.org/
My heart is heavy and with all those suffering right now. Let's do better, folks. We have to do better.