A CALL TO MY WHITE BROTHERS AND SISTERS: STEP IT UP
I ask you with clarity and unwavering commitment to be fully accountable and step into your power now to devote your heart, mind and body to end racism over the long-haul. Here are some simple steps I recommend.
ONE: FACE IT
Learn to turn into and face the reality of the brutality of racism in the US and how we white people have benefited on the backs of others. Learn to turn into the shame, guilt and pain and to regulate your reactions in your mind and body. Learn to be deeply uncomfortable and make room for all of the hard feelings- yours and others. Turning away from the difficult emotions that surface such as pain and shame will never bring healing.
TWO: LEARN
Commit yourself to learning how white privilege and racism works in all forms. Get to know how it feels in your body, how it works in every system you are part of- leave no stone unturned. Learn to listen deeply to others experiences and work to create and support safe mutually designed spaces for people to express fear, rage, sadness and any other feeling. No healing happens without honesty. Above all take full responsibility for your own learning over the long-haul. It is messy. It is going to be messy. We are humans finding our way. Take the next best step…and then another one.
THREE: BE ACCOUNTABLE
Give up power in clear ways. Have people around you hold you accountable. Measure your impact in very concrete ways in the world.
FOUR: KNOW YOUR GOAL AND STAY ON TASK
It is not enough to sit around and say you don't agree or that you are broken-hearted. Address how white supremacy feels and functions in yourself, your family, your community, and the systems in which you participate in whole and specific ways. Be clear about where you give consent and where you don't. Have a plan, revise it, and stick to it. You can't do it all, choose your part wisely and be effective. Be on task!
We are all imperfect and we can heal!
In Love and Service- Molly