Back in August we sent out a WELLread titled “Dear white people…”
Here’s a reminder of what it said:
White people, we’ve got work to do. We have to stop waiting for the right time, the right tone or the perfect readiness to act. We just need to start somewhere. And we need to start now.
This is a call to action. Reach out to your brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, friends, and colleagues. Racism is all around us. It’s closer to your inner circle than you think. We need to be bridges in our social circles for courageous conversations and compassionate conflict.
It is not the kind of thing you can do from the sidelines. It looks like disruptive conversations, radical relationships, taking to the streets, bold action, and LOVE.
Love does not sit back and watch. It gets down and dirty. It is fierce and active.
Y’all read through, and clicked on, and had conversations with us in response to “Dear white people…” more than any other WELLread we’ve sent. And while the context of that piece — in the wake of and in response to Charlottesville — may have catalyzed a lot of reader engagement, we’re reaffirming that it isn’t just during major events of unrest that we need to be reckoning with issues of racism but all. the. time.
So this is where we’re beginning. As promised, we’ll be bringing you more custom content to WELLread written through the lens and mission of CTZNWELL and we’re beginning with a bi-monthly letter titled “Dear white people…”
We’re starting somewhere. We’re starting now.
To give you a hint as to how what you can expect, reflect back on this other excerpt from the original letter:
Let us take risks, make mistakes, be vulnerable, and love beyond our safety. This work is messy, and our job is to practice it, not perfect it. We need to come together and do whatever is necessary to reduce harm and create the conditions where everyone can thrive.
We’ll meet you back here in two weeks (look for it in WELLread). In the meantime, we’d love to hear your questions, how you’ve been responding to this call to action, in what ways you’re daring to get off the sidelines. Drop ’em in the comments below!
