Activism Action: From one White Person to Another, Day 2

*disclosure.. this is an excerpt from a journal I kept during the second week of June 2020, documenting my own thoughts and feelings as I started to work on understanding racism in America and world wide, specifically my own racism and my privilege. I would encourage you to go back and read Day 1, if you haven’t.

Day two: 

#BlackoutTuesday #Theshowmustbepaused 

As I sit down this afternoon I am mentally exhausted. There is SO much information out there. Right now, even if you weren’t looking for it, it would find you. I’m looking and my brain is overwhelmed, frustrated, and I’m wondering how me sitting and educating myself is going to make a difference. The answer is that yes, absolutely. Maybe not for anyone else right now, but it will change things for me. I have the time and the ability to put in a ton of work right now, so now is the time, and everyday from here on out. 

I woke up and looked through social media. It was something to see all the black squares. Beautiful, but also not quite what I expected. I also noticed that the black voices still out there were reminding us that we can do more, staying silent isn’t the answer, to please not misuse the #Blacklivesmatter tag, and not to be performative. 

I took this to heart, deleted and reposted a post that had been tagged with #Blacklivesmatter. I found some great POC who had posted some resources and reminders. I messaged them and asked if they minded if I shared. (This is important. Don’t repost stuff, highlight stuff, etc. without getting permission and making sure you are respecting the creator.) I spent some time finding some more voices to follow and read another anti-racism essay. 

This afternoon, I picked up my phone and instead of opening social media to scroll, I used my email account, phone, and social media accounts to contact the mayor, the governor’s office, and the DA in another state. It felt great to use the political power we hold as the people to push for protection, prosecution, and peaceful action. 

I talked to my best friend about what I’m learning. I tuned into a moment of silence hosted by POC. Listened to some of the ITunes live stream of music by black artists. I painted some more flyers I am hoping to put up tomorrow afternoon. Lastly I finished my research into nonprofits and picked one to donate to and then did just that. After that, I am feeling overwhelmed and ready to take a quick mental breather. 

It’s okay to need to step back at the end of the day, for the whole day, or even a whole week. But it’s important to be mindful of the fact that POC don’t get that break.

So before I sign out of this for today, a list of what you can do and what I am hoping to do still this week. 

Things you can do, that I have already mentioned: 

• Mute your own voice for a few days to learn, reflect, and amplify. 
• Find and follow POC who are making content you really like. 
• Repost, like, tag, etc. Make sure you get permission before highlighting. 
• Buy from a POC. If you can find local, small businesses. This helps to strengthen the community you both live in. 
• Start reading anti-racism materials. Specifically stuff written for white people. 
• Order a book or two.
• Contact city and state officials about the issues at hand. I suggest checking out some activism groups to find out what those issues are. 
• Write, read, create art… educate yourself, process that shit, and then find your own way to express it. 
• Listen to Black artists. 
• Tune in to events led by minority community leaders. 
• Donate to groups working on the front lines of this battle. 
• Talk to friends and family about what you are learning. 

Tomorrow and This week I am hoping to do the following things and more…

• Post some hand painted flyers I made. 
• Watch some historical fiction movies suggested by minority activists, created by POC in the movie/TV industry.
• Amplify and share more voices!
• Sign some petitions I’ve been saving the links to. 
• Read another essay or article on anti-racism.
• Write here. 
• Answer some writing prompts. 
• Preparing some posts ahead of time, to help me continue to advocate. 

This is just the start. Lots of these things are things that I plan to do weekly, monthly, and even daily for the rest of my life. My check list just got much longer, and that’s okay. I know that the more I do these things, the more they will become second nature, and that that is one step forward for me and all those around me.