Loving Each Other better: Anti-Racism

The work of anti-racism is the work of becoming a better human to other humans."

- Austin Channing Brown

The last year I’ve been listening, learning and seeing how far I have to go in understanding my privilege and what I can do to be a true ally to BIPOC. I am still a work in progress and I am humbled by how far I have to go.

Then I came across this quote today from Audre Lorde:
“and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive”

― Audre Lorde, The Black Unicorn: Poems

To my BIPOC friends and families I create with, thank you for being here. I am listening and learning + sitting with my discomfort around these issues. It is painful and necessary work and I am sorry for the ways I have shied away from it in the past. I can and will do better. 

For my white friends and family, I want to share some books that have been helpful:
How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram Kendi
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
NOTE: If you would like to support black-owned bookstores, Here is a list of black-owned independent bookstores you can order from.

By stepping over the awkward, uncomfortable and deeply painful feelings that arise in this conversation about race, we are missing a great opportunity for understanding and connection. We are missing being in relationship with ourselves and others in a more complete and intimate way.

At the heart of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings is the idea that “understanding is love's other name” — that to love another means to fully understand his or her suffering. He says, "Understanding someone’s suffering is the best gift you can give another person. Understanding is love’s other name. If you don’t understand, you can’t love."