We Must be Anti-Racist
The goal of this blog and my work is to help people feel comfortable, confident and content in their small spaces. But I cannot continue to talk about those things without addressing the fact that, here in America, many Black citizens can’t even feel safe in and around their own homes due the extreme and unrelenting dangers and threats that accompany racism. (A recent example of this is the murder of Breonna Taylor.)
To the members of this community who are white: It is our daily responsibility to dismantle white supremacy and the systems of oppression that continue to burden and destroy Black lives. It is our responsibility to learn how to be anti-racist by researching, listening, not centering ourselves, and addressing overt and covert white supremacy whenever it manifests in both our personal and business interactions. It is our responsibility to commit to raising anti-racist children. It is our responsibility to keep Black friends, neighbors and strangers safe from hateful, biased and baseless attacks.
And we need to VOTE for anti-racist leadership at all levels of government.
Thus far, I’ve found the following materials to be particularly helpful regarding recognizing and addressing the issues of internalized racism and white supremacy:
How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
Also helpful is this list of Anti-racism Resources (articles, books, podcasts, films, social media accounts, organizations, etc.) compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020, and brought to my attention via Brittany Packnett Cunningham.
Our local library and The Conscious Kid routinely suggest excellent children’s books by authors and/or illustrators of color that focus on children of color.
Of course our to-do list reaches far beyond reading and sharing books. Our good intentions aren’t enough. We must translate what we learn into action, and do so every single day.
“There is justice. There is injustice. There is no neutrality. No sideline. No bleachers. No exits. We are all in the human rights struggle to save humanity from human tyranny. Black people, especially, are struggling for the right to live, for the right to breathe.”
- Ibram X. Kendi
