My Outrage. My Actions. My Invitation - An Open Community Letter
Collectively we are so many things right now: outraged, angry, heartbroken, confused. We are experiencing an uprising in the midst of a pandemic and unprecedented level of unemployment. It's really hard to sleep at night.
I first want to speak to my Black community members - there are no words other than YOUR LIFE MATTERS! and I am deeply sorry. For the pain. The injustice. The deep anguish that has always been a part of your life, but has been dismissed by those of us who have had the privilege of ignorance, rather than the honesty required for a radical uprising.
As a white woman, my anti-racist actions will be a lifelong, active apology aimed at mending the gaping national wound that I have contributed to along with my ancestors.
My business is an extension of me, and I am committed to examining, then implementing, all that is required to bring my practices in full alignment with my values. While it is not your job to call me out on what I need to be doing, I welcome correction. I value our relationship and am listening to you, and your experience, first and foremost.
In the midst of all that is going on - I truly hope you are finding the space you need to take care of yourself, and your loved ones.
xoxoxo
The following is intended for my non-Black community members.
The confluence of recent events: The murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. Amy Cooper's call to the police. A pandemic killing black people at three times the average rate. An economic crisis hurting black families and businesses at an alarming and disproportionate rate is a reckoning for all of us.
I imagine these recent days are impacting you in a multitude of ways. This time is demanding our rightful attention. I know we are being called to engage at many levels - Protesting - Donating - Learning - it can feel overwhelming to know the best next step. You may feel called to act, you may feel scared to act, you may not feel called to act yet. No matter which state you are currently in, taking intentional action is THE way through. It is always the path to healing.
I am one to feel, learn, integrate, then take action that is in alignment with my own integrity. Meaning - I am finding my 'lane' in this movement, because this movement is deeply important to me.
What I am sharing below is an INVITATION towards conversation...
Next Thursday I am holding a community conversation on the topic of Financial Reparations to help you clarify your plan for taking aligned action with MONEY - it is open to anyone who wants to feel more intentional - and less chaotic - in your financial response to this movement. It will at least be a start... and a conversation I imagine I will continue for a while...
This is one of my lanes: to help you use your money as a tool to express your values and affect the change you are ready to see.
Below are conversation topics that I want to bring directly into this community - And I hope they prompt conversations far from this two dimensional page.
Anti-racist work is as much about unlearning as it is about learning. For the past 5 years I have been intentionally reading books, articles, and listening to podcasts that challenge, and rewrite, my education which did not accurately represent history or the true complexity of Black/African American experiences. While it shows up in my work in a variety of ways, I haven't shared as much in this professional realm as I wish I had been.
To be VERY clear - I am not the one you should be learning about anti-racism from (a few excellent links are below). However - there are historical and current realities that give context to WEALTH and how privilege, racism, and power intersect in our country. This is what 'systemic racism' looks like. I am naming a few of *many* here - all are linked, so if you aren't familiar with a term, use this as the *start* of your re-education.
This is not to digest all at once, or a race to consume - it is only a starting place. Commit to the power of consistent, sustainable ACTION
[reminder - all olive text represents linked content]
Black Wall Street [Tulsa Race Massacre]
Incarceration [Also research: Impact of Bail Payments]
Maternal Mortality Rates for Black Women
Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) / Trauma
Each is an INVITATION to go deeper. To prompt your own reflection. To guide you to consider these hard, but important questions...
If my family had experienced (any/all of) these events, how might that have changed my current financial reality?
If a family member (sister/brother, son/daughter, father/mother, aunt/uncle) went to jail, were killed, or died while giving birth, would I be supporting their family members financially? How would that impact my current / future financial reality?
How am I currently participating in and perpetuating a system that ensures only certain people succeed?
I have found THIS VIDEO to be the best illustration of our 'current system'. Privilege doesn't mean your life was without hardship - it means you didn't have these ADDITIONAL factors on top of those hardships. Watch it to the end. I have so many feelings every time I see it.
I am here. Doing my best to lead in the ways I can. To work through my own layers of internalized racism. I will make mistakes. I will apologize and learn how to move forward knowing more. I won't ever do enough, but I will always do my best to help usher in a future that holds love, justice, and equity as core guiding principles. It is time for liberation.
RESOURCES to start / continue Anti-Racism Work -
Read - How to Be an Anti-Racist
Read - Me and White Supremacy
Read - My Grandmother's Hands
Listen - 1619 Podcast
Listen - Seeing White Podcast
Learn - Cultural Somatics Institute Free Course: Racialized Trauma
Learn - Rachel Cargle / The Great Unlearn Community
There are a gazillion other resources - but I am 100% confident that you are capable of finding more when you exhaust these.
**If you are new to this 'anti-racist' conversation, please LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN to black educators and activists. [Do the work. Google what you don't know. Ask a white friend] They have been doing this work for years and have TONS of free content available.