Black Lives Matter

There is a time for emphasizing our shared humanity and collective experience.  This is not that time.  

George Floyd’s murder was heart-breaking, disgusting, and all too common an experience for the Black community. As are the many ways that people who are Black are treated as less than on a daily basis. These experiences are not shared by White people. They are perpetrated and perpetuated by White people, overtly and unconsciously.

This is why we need to center the message:

Black Lives Matter

Hopefully, we are at a tipping point in the revolution against racial injustice. But it’s not enough to stand in solidarity with people who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). White people need to do better. I need to do better.

Looking over my own books and resources, I see that I’ve mostly been trained and influenced by white teachers and authors. This needs to change.

I need to shine the spotlight of awareness on the ways I’ve been contributing to systemic racism and learn how to be anti-racist. I’ve got a lot to learn; I’m definitely the student here.  

There are so many great anti-racism teachers out there right now, many of them BIPOC.

Layla F. Saad’s book and program Me and White Supremacy is a good starting point.  So is Ibram X. Kendi’s TED talk on how to be Anti-Racist. Dr. Robin Angelo’s video on white fragility is sobering. 

If you have resources, particularly from BIPOC teachers, for how to unlearn racism and be a better ally, please share them.  

It’s time to do the work.

Big love,
Jen