I keep grasping for words, but I know better - there are none. There is only grief, rage, and anguish. Would you expect anything less from so much senseless loss of life?
I don’t have words for the losses of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless others whose lives have been taken simply because of the color of their skin. No words of mine can fill the space their lives once held.
I don’t have words for the losses of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless others whose lives have been taken simply because of the color of their skin. No words of mine can fill the space their lives once held.
I do not want to be just another white voice trying to say the right thing on social media. But, I do not want to be silent either. To be silent is to be complicit.
Instead, I want to be present. In a time like this, presence is often more powerful than words. I can share my thoughts on social media and repost the works of the black community, but all of that is meaningless if I’m not backing it up with action.
I want to listen. I want to learn and unlearn. I want to stand for justice that, for the first time in history, is true for all. Not the white justice America boasts as being for all. We all know that has never been true.
Whitewashing
The stories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are not new. No, this is a tragedy over 400 years in the making. A tragedy that has been candy-coated by Whiteness for too long.
White folks have tried to erase our nefarious American history of slave ownership and colonialism by glossing over the overt racism of our founding fathers, the truth behind the Civil War, the massacre of Native Americans, and countless other historical events. This blatant disregard, or whitewashing, of our tumultuous past must end.
As a country, we still idolize and echo the words of men who were slave owners, who saw People of Color as an inferior race. Men who raped, beat, and mercilessly took the lives of Black women, men, and children. Men who lied to, stole from and snuffed out Indigenous people and their ways of life.
We must hold ourselves accountable for our history. We must see the so often revered founding fathers, presidents, war generals, and other men and women who progressed under the flag of white supremacy for who they were - monsters. We must stop celebrating these people, or our country will never be whole.
It is our white privilege that allows us to celebrate our past with little or no thought to the immense pain we caused. It should not be on Black lives to show us this. We must do the work ourselves. We must be willing to look at our past, sit with the discomfort - because, if you are human, it will be uncomfortable - and dismantle the ways we have built our society on racism and white supremacy.
The Past and Present
It is not only our past we must be accountable for. Systemic Racism, white supremacy, and oppression are still pervasive today. This is evident in police brutality, mass incarceration, hiring and housing discrimination; in statements such as, “ I don’t see color” or believing we live in a Post-Racial society.
It is evident in our president, who would call white protesters, marching with guns - angry about orders put in place to protect them during a pandemic - good people who need to be heard. But Black people peacefully protesting for their lives and justice are thugs threatened with military force.
I’ve heard it chanted over and over again, “silence is violence.”
It is our white privilege to remain silent, while People of Color around us suffer. Maybe we think it isn’t our fight, or maybe we just don’t want to give up our comfort. But it is our fight. It is we who benefit from a system made by white people for white people. It is time to dismantle that system - within ourselves and the country as a whole. We must give up our comfort. If we don’t, we are less than human - we are the monsters.
Taking Action
There are numerous actions we can take right now. The first thing we should all do, though, is looking within and recognize the ways we benefit from white privilege. Then, from this moment forward, be mindful of it every day. Break the cycle. This is not just an issue that needs to change within the systems in place in this country. It must change on the individual level as well.
Moving forward, we can join the protests demanding justice. Make noise. Stand up. Show up. Call, email, or text your local government. Demand change. Donate. One of the most impactful ways to take action, if you have the funds, is to donate. There are a lot of organizations out there helping to fund racial justice - here are a few you could consider: Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and Campaign Zero.
Moving forward, we can join the protests demanding justice. Make noise. Stand up. Show up. Call, email, or text your local government. Demand change. Donate. One of the most impactful ways to take action, if you have the funds, is to donate. There are a lot of organizations out there helping to fund racial justice - here are a few you could consider: Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and Campaign Zero.
We can also support Black-owned businesses and artists directly. There are a lot of free services out there these days - from podcasters to writers, public speakers, and comedians. It is important to remember that they are sharing their work, their livelihood. We can support these folks financially by joining their Patreon or whatever platform they use.
Lastly, we must educate ourselves. It is not our place to ask People of Color to do it for us. They have been telling their story for over 400 years. It is well past time that we listen. Do the research. Read books and other resources by marginalized voices that are already out in the world. Uncover the truths so often hidden in our American history. We must be better; do better. Or our country will never be whole. We must learn how to be allies.
Who Are We
Who do we think we are to so brutally and carelessly taking a person's life?
Who do we think we are to treat someone as less than because of their skin color?
Who do we think we are to persecute and oppress?
Who do we think we are to call ourselves people of God while we tolerate, even instigate racism, discrimination, and hate?
Who do we think we are to sweep our past under the rug and pretend as we live in better days, while each new week black people mourn the death of a brother, sister, father, or mother.
This is white privilege. This is white supremacy. This is Racism.
It still here. It never left.
We can not let this stand any longer.
Resources to Check Out
- Uncivil - a gripping history podcast that focuses on the untold stories of the Civil War.
- The Next Question podcast - hosted by author and activist, Austin Channing Brown - engages in conversations around racial justice. Read her powerful and illuminating book as well, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.
- Musician, writer, and activist, Andre Henry
- Pod Save the People
- The Fire Next Time, and other works of James Baldwin
- White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
- A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
The list could go on, but this is what I will leave you with for now.