Learn: Listen more than you talk.

Photo by Derick McKinney on Unsplash

It is hard to know what to say at this time. I have spent most of my time over the last week listening, taking in things. Learning things I thought I knew. One question living at the front of my mind is “am I living what I teach”. Maybe I have not done harm, but what have I really done to make the world a better place? So I have looked at what I choose to ignore and what things I have accepted because it is easier to just go along to get along. Not that going along to get along really worked; it just kicked the can down the road to be dealt with another day. Ready or not, that day is here and carries with it all the pent up fear and anger from years of discontent, distrust and oppression.

Take this time to examine your own views on things. Have you really tried to see things from another’s perspective? Have you, like I, taken the easy road? More important than anything else is to hear other people. Not just listen, but really hear. Don’t brush aside their concern and understand their plight. It is like we are seeing things from two different perspectives and need to really see the issues through their eyes, their background, and their reality. Many white people, like me, don’t always know enough to understand what we don’t know— until now. We assume but do not ask what is needed.

The good thing is that we are now experiencing a time where we can not ignore the flaws in our system. There are many places where you can find resources to learn. Develop awareness and empathy. I am going to share a list I found in a facebook group.

I also want to bring to your attention a new facebook group called White People, Do Something. Step out of your denial and embrace a future that will be better for everyone.

Let me know what you have learned in the past weeks and what you see for the future.

Some resources to look into, though there are many out there. These can get you started:

When We Stand Together

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.