I am a white woman.
I have a black son-in-law, a black granddaughter, and a black niece.
My daughter Marissa has many black friends, and relatives.
I am no longer surprised when I see a video of a black person being killed by police, or vilified by a white person just for being "on the scene".
It worries me that my granddaughter will have to navigate the world using a different lens than her white cousin. And I'm concerned that something bad will happen to her dad just for "driving while black".
So I am sharing this post that Marissa put on Facebook today, because she asked her family to stop being silent on the issue of race. There is a lot we can do if we only open our eyes, call out racism when we see it, and get involved.
Marissa's right.
White people were shocked to see other people standing by while a police officer killed George Floyd in cold blood, and reacted by just asking him to "stop". And they were shocked that a black bird watcher got the police called on him for asking a woman to put her dog on a leash.
But it's crickets when the sentence comes down, and the cops get off.
Cops nearly always get off.
As Marissa says, it happens every day many times as we catch our buses, or walk our dogs. I just want to add that it's not just black people. It's the Chinese reporter who is told to go back to her country after being blamed by a white man without a mask for causing the COVID-19 pandemic. It happens to Muslim girls and women who wearing hijabs.
Racism is everywhere.
We need to continue the discussion and arm ourselves with tools that we can use to make the world a more peaceful and joyful place for all Canadians. No black or brown child should have to be trained to deal with racism. The world is tough enough.
How to Educate Yourselves
One of Marissa's friend's posted a toolbox we can all use to do our part to stop racism.
Please read this, after you read Marissa's note.
Racial Equity Tool Box
In Marissa's words...
Let me say something - not for applause, not for my own feeling of self-importance or self-worth, but out of education and out of anger. I have a black husband, I have a black child.
My existence as a white woman contributes to a system that oppresses people of colour. I don't have to do anything to progress that - just by EXISTING, I contribute to it. By being silent, or by not seeking to understand, I progress it.
WHITE PEOPLE, white friends, white family, I'm going to talk to you for a second. Your silence on the issues that people of colour face, your passiveness ("I'm not racist, I don't see colour, etc) also further systematic racism. If you don't look for information on the LIVED EXPERIENCES of people of colour, if you don't educate yourselves, if you don't push for change, ask how you can help - these things will never get better. You are "surprised" when you see a black man getting killed in a video on Facebook BECAUSE you don't understand that this is an every day occurrence, this is an every day fear of black people. The thought that their blackness will be offensive enough for a white woman or man to call the cops on them for doing every day activities, they got a little too close, a little too comfortable, and this made up of thousands of micro-aggressions they face every. single. day. And point blank, this gets people killed.
Unconscious racial bias exist - EVEN IF YOU HAVE BLACK FRIENDS.
Please educate yourself. Please be an ally. Please don't be silent.
Comments
Post a Comment