We Cannot Be Silent
Black. Lives. Matter.
We are living in a time in 2020 both of a viral pandemic and a social justice pandemic. Some businesses are carrying on like nothing has happened maybe even hoping it will all “go back to normal” soon. I for one will not accept the “norm” of our society any further. I can never understand what Black community members and People of Color (POC) face in the United States. I can never understand what the lack of white privilege is like. I can never truly understand the feeling that Black mothers feel when their children leave their home, hoping that they don’t run into the police. I can never understand the emotions of Black people and POC because of how our country’s past has systematically and generationally oppressed them. I, as a white person, could never begin to understand the daily and lifetime’s worth of experiences that Black people have faced in our country.
What I do understand is that I can use my white privilege in ways to help create spaces for Black voices to be heard and speak up myself against racism. There are ways that I can further help the community. I can be an ally. In doing that, I have to face my own implicit biases and work hard to break them daily. We all carry implicit biases towards others. Those might have been strengthened because of family members, friends, where you grew up, your own experiences, what you watched in movies, etc. Though, at this point in our lives we cannot allow those reasons to be our excuses for not trying to be better.
As a Social Worker it is in my Code of Ethics to:
Challenge Social Injustices
Respect the Inherent Dignity and Worth of a Person
Be Culturally Aware and Socially Diverse
Further my Education throughout my Career
I would be competently complicit in racism and racist oppressive treatment if I did not do all I could with the best knowledge I have to do better. If you yourself reading this are a Black community member, please know that I see you and I stand with you. No justice, No peace. We will keep fighting even with the push-back, until we see real change happen. Not the little trinkets they give us when we demand police reform and instead they change street signs. While those little trinkets are great we cannot loose sight of what we were asking for in the first place. Our society systematically, which goes much further than just police departments, needs serious reform. The protests will continue and I will stand with you everyday until we see the change we want and need in our country.
If you are a white community member reading this and are interested in understanding further how to be a better ally, I have provided a few resources for education opportunities.
https://www.racialequitytools.org/glossary - This resource focuses on proper language we should be using and staying away from. Speaking in anti-racist ways is a huge aid to seeing change.
https://medium.com/@realtalkwocandallies/holy-shit-being-an-ally-isnt-about-me-ae2de5c47514 - This resource focuses on understanding that as white allies and even friends, this at the end of the day is not about us. We ultimately need to make sure we are separating our own selfish reasons for helping this movement.
https://tatianamac.com/posts/save-the-tears/ - This resource similarly focuses on making sure we are not the center of our own attention. Though I can understand how overwhelming this advocacy work can be, make sure you are not incidentally invalidating Black people by your words, sorrows, and lack of education.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/books/review/antiracist-reading-list-ibram-x-kendi.html - This is an entire list of education opportunities for furthering our knowledge in anti-racist specific ways.
