Have you ever wondered if you would have marched with Martin Luther King in the American Civil Right Movement? I would like to think I would have marched.
Now is the time to march. HOW you march it is up to you. Marching for you might be:
- Following Indigenous voices
- Watching: First Australians, Rabbit Proof Fence, My Blood it Runs
- Reading: My Place by Sally Morgan, Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe, To Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
- Educating yourself
- Exploring social justice organisations
- Donating
- Getting involved
- Having uncomfortable conversations with other white people
There is a movement. Thousands and thousands of people are tuning in, listening to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) voices. People like me are wondering…I am not racist…but am I? Where is my white privilege? Where is the systemic racism I am not even aware of because of my white privilege? I see people ready to look inside and do the work, and that always excites me.
Doing the work takes courage, because it is uncomfortable. But I had to ask myself…do I know everything? NO! Do I know everything about me? NO. Do I know, what I don’t know about myself and the system I live in? NO!
There is so, so much I am completely blind to. Is it okay to just not look? For me, no. If I am truly anti-racist and willing to acknowledge that there are things I don’t know, then I need to look. Even if what I find is ugly, uncomfortable, disdainful, hard, unfair, and painful. That is the work. That is the healing work.
Is it fair that the very people who have been traumatised are the ones STILL having to use their energy to shout loud and call for systemic change? Let’s get clear that systemic change is required and that involves us all.
(Credit to @dunn_talking for reading list)
