Do you have WOC leadership? Are you committed to the work?
More white women are educating themselves about anti-racism and allyship. There still aren’t nearly enough of them, but the number of white women requesting training in my group Real Talk: WOC & Allies for Racial Justice and Anti-Oppression continues to grow. That’s a good thing. We’re up for the task of working with them to address their own racism and showing them how to fight racism both on an individual and systemic level.
A white woman leads the mentoring in my group. She has done anti-racism work for decades. It was a natural fit for her to lead the training and oversee what we call the Mending Room. This is a place where white women who have misstepped learn about their harmful behavior and receive guidance on preventing it in the future. …
You still won’t center the work over your own feelings.
- You make excuses for your racist friends/family. There’s no excusing racism. Yes, it’s harder to address with people you love, but this is the work. If you let it slide, you’re complicit. Period. Either you’re anti-racist or you’re not. You can’t pick and choose which racist white people you call out. Anti-racism means you address it wherever you see it. That means confronting your parents, siblings, husband, children, friends, etc. While it’s important to do the larger tasks such as marching for change, it’s equally important to educate the people around you. Anti-racism work is also a grassroots effort. …
You can’t support us by sitting on the sidelines.
I’m watching white people finally get off the sidelines and speak up. More of you realize what we’ve been saying about our experiences in this country is the truth. It took too long, but I see you fighting alongside us.
But not all of you.
When I say silence is violence, I’m now getting this answer: “Just because I’m silent, doesn’t mean I’m racist.”
Actually, it does.
Many white people still believe the only racists that matter are the ones spewing hatred and acting on that hatred. Those aren’t the people we regularly encounter. Our managers aren’t (usually) klansmen or skinheads. …
There are no gray areas to white supremacy.
Your choice is simple. Either speak up and join the fight or stay silent and side with the oppressor. I’ll no longer slice and dice the layers of racism so that White people can look at one another and say, “Well, at least I’m not that racist.”
You’re no better than a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan if you stay silent. These violent acts are also on your hands. Silence always has consequences. You won’t walk in the light, preferring to skulk around in the dark bearing witness to bloodshed. …
White people shouldn’t be surprised, but they should be worried.
Riots. Protests. Revolution.
Black people shouted. We shouted at the top of our lungs. We shouted to be seen. We shouted to be heard. We shouted our pain and anger.
White people? They turned their backs and walked away.
So here we are. People protest around the world to show their support for Black lives and their outrage at the murder of George Floyd. I’m heartened to see some White people protesting and not surprised to see others rioting with the sole purpose of causing even more violence against Black people.
Just as I’m not surprised some White people are attempting to change the narrative of this movement, I’m equally unsurprised that many White people deny George Floyd, or any other Black person whose murder was filmed, was actually murdered. I’ve read the same white supremacist excuses, and to that, I…
The latest, Central Park Karen, tried to murder a Black man.
The video is horrendous. I won’t link to it here. If you want to watch this vile White woman, Google it. Her name is Amy Cooper, but she’s just one of the many Karens out there trying her best to get Black people killed.
I don’t doubt she would have succeeded except the man, Christian Cooper, recorded the encounter. I watched this woman formulate the idea and put on an Oscar-worthy performance as she told a 911 operator that a Black man was threatening her.
Mr. Cooper remained calm throughout the entire ordeal. He’s used to Karens, Beckys and Susans. He knows that to display his anger, which in this situation he’s more than entitled to, puts him in mortal danger. He knows the power of White women. Their tears can kill us. I’m amazed and proud of him. And I’m angry for him, that he can’t ask a White woman to follow the rules without her basically saying, “How dare this nigger tell me what to do!” …
Credit and/or pay others when you use their teachings.
I started Real Talk: WOC & Allies over three years ago because I believed women of color needed a safe space and white women needed to learn how to become real allies. I’m fortunate to have a strong group of women to help me run the group. I depend on them. The group wouldn’t exist without them.
These women have given much of their time to educating white women. They, along with other women in the group, do this because it’s necessary work. It’s also painful, uncomfortable work. But sometimes we change minds and produce real allies.
Many members have met in real life or have formed strong virtual bonds. I include myself in that statement. I’ve met some of my closest friends in Real Talk. So I’m protective of the space and mindful of when the lessons learned there are taken out of context and threaten the integrity of what we’ve created. …
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