Yes, I used the exact same title as last year’s post. Because it’s still true and more salient than ever!
In this time of critical mass, we have an opportunity to make changes at every level. Governor Wolf just declared Juneteenth a state holiday.
This Friday is the first anniversary of @GovernorTomWolf declaring June 19 as Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Pennsylvania, a state holiday centered around the continued need for a fair and just society.https://t.co/0jEaOla5C1
— Office of the Governor (@GovernorsOffice) June 18, 2020
Original Juneteenth order found in the National Archives:
Please read and learn about the history of Juneteenth – even after surrender at Appomattox, this proclamation was the reason thousands of slaves were ultimately freed. https://t.co/4LCASG2qEJ
A Comprehensive List Of Mental Health resources for Black women: these organizations are doing their best to provide mental health services specifically for Black people. Use them, share them, support them.https://t.co/nkdvEG6USz
"If you’re struggling with your mental health, know you’re not alone and help is available. Here are eight mental health resources for black folks looking for more support right now" 📲 https://t.co/K7Va3tno5k
The emotional impact of watching white people wake up to racism:
'It feels like we're watching the collective belated awakening of white people to racism – as though somehow, it has only just occurred to them to do something about it.
'It's draining to realise that before this "moment", so many ppl just didn’t care.'https://t.co/tdQc7FjgJI
"Medical Professionals: Check Your Implicit Bias!!"—originally posted by @drjenniferlincoln on TikTok, reposted by @AbebeEllie on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/HGL1fMiL7X
Hi White People! I want to tell you something. It's the second week since the explosion of this round of protests. The second week since George Floyd's snuff film started being broadcast all over. I want to tell you something about my experience with white progressive backlash.
— Academic Foxhole | TrooperSJP (@AcademicFoxhole) June 10, 2020
“This google doc was thoughtfully put together for white people and white parents. Read, teach your children, others, and more importantly yourselves. Do NOT rest on the laurels of black people and expect them to continue to do the work for you.”:
ICYMI: This google doc was thoughtfully put together for white people and white parents. https://t.co/XRuyal44Zo. Read, teach your children, others, and more importantly yourselves. Do NOT rest on the laurels of black people and expect them to continue to do the work for you.
DC physician’s Detroit childhood Girl Scouts experience:
Story I learned last night:
I started Girl Scouts in first grade and was an active scout until I was 17 (12th grade)—did ALL the GS stuff and loved my scouting experience. I was a GS national delegate.
My troop, 1001, was in Detroit and almost all black.
— I'm a Doctor. Stay Home and Wash Your Hands (@dst6n01) June 9, 2020
How to show support to Black colleagues:
For White academics:
A thread for my fellow white academics: It is wonderful that we are all feeling a renewed sense of urgency around the important work to be done in our profession. But, here are a few thoughts about how to do that productively and in ways that don’t burden our PoC colleagues. 1/n
"Every day, we have woken up and answered the emails and gotten on the Zoom calls. We’ve showed up with a smile, and put the pain and fear behind us. We’ve swallowed the rage while responding to our bosses…" @dbcadet shares.https://t.co/xLJbhuH5q0
“White folks wanting to help? Here’s your one freebie”:
White folks wanting to help? Here’s your one freebie. Then I’m off to play video games & enjoy a gummy. So pull up a chair:
— Tanya, Chaotic Black Deathbane (@cypheroftyr) June 2, 2020
Thread of reading list recommendations from Victoria Alexander:
I’ve been getting a lot of questions from my non-Black friends about how to be a better ally to Black people. I suggest unlearning and relearning through literature as just one good jumping off point, and have broken up my anti-racist reading list into sections: pic.twitter.com/gj5uko69OY
— Victoria Alexander (@victoriaalxndr) May 30, 2020
Book recommendations to share with young readers from Kathie MacIsaac:
Purchase and read these books, share them with young readers, find videos where the authors discuss them and show them to your classroom or kids. Invite authors to Skype. Do some research. Listen to those voices that have the answers when we don’t know what to say. #mglitpic.twitter.com/dzGUoN7T67
This workshop is aimed at helping White women (trans-inclusive, NB-inclusive) to understand and work on their own racism/ gain understanding of systemic racism. (Women of any race may attend, but Black and Brown women may find it remedial!)
Emphasis on movement perspective of connection, cooperation, safety, kindness, trust, and inclusion, rather than the western-masculine model of critical and exclusionary activism.
WHAT really is race?
WHY is race hard to talk about?
WHY is “White women” a charged term?
HOW does feminism fit in?
HOW can we heal racism?
WHAT can White women do to help?
Presented by Dr. Liz Yaelingh-Scoffins of Intersectional Life Counseling & Psychology
$25 (or request scholarship if needed)
BIPOC may attend for free using the code: BiPOC
20% of proceeds will be donated to the BLM cause (TBD).
Sometimes people–invariably White people–question why I should be the one to teach anti-racism to other White people. For the most part, I believe this is a good-faith question brought by those with good intention regarding unpacking their own racism.
However, what it usually tells me is the questioner has already not been listening to BIPoC people at all. If they had, they would have already heard the following words hundreds of times.
Not every one of the following posts is from a Black person, but many are.
white people, stop relying on the labor of black people to teach you about racism, teach yourself. Black people have deep rooted trauma, and asking them to explain that to you is selfish, it is not there responsibility to explain your own ignorance to you. #blm#blacklifematterspic.twitter.com/OkYd23f9Nr
And every day my email box is flooded with white people asking if I would be willing to sit with them for free and explain, once again, what this whole racism thing is about.
I don't know if I'll ever get that space and time that I need to safely unpack this trauma.
Don’t DM/mass tag/text/email/carrier pigeon black mutuals to educate you. We’re sharing loads of resources, bail funds to contribute to every minute. Don’t see those tweets? That’s a who you don’t follow problem, not a black folks help me out problem.
— Selise, the Deathbane (@cypheroftyr) June 2, 2020
Find more white folks to talk to about whiteness and anti-blackness
— Joe Truss – Culturally Responsive Leadership (@trussleadership) June 1, 2020
What white educators can do today to support racial justice: Read this thread and choose something to put in motion today. Pay attention to the part about not burdening Black folx with questions or requests. Find white friends to do this work with. #onethingforracialjusticehttps://t.co/jwD8JwRwry
— Jennifer Gonzalez (@cultofpedagogy) June 1, 2020
We need white people to step up and train other white people. This is too much work.
Tag the white folks doing work to train and instruct other white folks how to show up in the moment.
— Tiffany Dena Loftin (@Tiffanydloftin) June 4, 2020
I agree with statement but white folks, be sure to remember:
Teach yourself. Utilize Google and the library. Don’t expect education from Black folks.
Stay engaged. LISTEN to Black folks. Amplify what they’re saying right now. You and I have nothing better to add. Amplify THEM. https://t.co/1ggoniGybV
Fellow white people! Please educate yourselves. It is NOT the responsibility of your POC friends to teach you about the oppression YOU subjugate them to.
If you are white and don’t know much about what is going on then this is your opportunity to educate yourselves! It should not fall to black people or POC to teach us about white privilege and systemic oppression…and when you learn speak up!
ITS LONG OVERDUE BUT IT REALLY IS TIME TO TEACH OURSELVES OUR HISTORY AND FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO LEARN THEIR TRUE HISTORY! IM SICK OF HAVING TO BE THE ONE TO TEACH & EDUCATE THOSE AROUND ME. LEARN YOURSELVES DAMN!! #BlackLivesMatter#BlackOutTuesday
It is not the job of black people to educate you on systemic racism, and the black history they don't teach you in school. White people, latinx people, immigrants to this country educate yourselves on all of this! As a Latina, that grew up in Puerto Rico, I had to…(thread) https://t.co/gFfnov3y01
— Yolanda L. Rodriguez (@YolandaLRodrig1) June 3, 2020
ICYMI: This google doc was thoughtfully put together for white people and white parents. https://t.co/XRuyal44Zo. Read, teach your children, others, and more importantly yourselves. Do NOT rest on the laurels of black people and expect them to continue to do the work for you.
I dont want to be rude but asking a black person… What you can I do to stop racism? Um is the concept of not being racist and standing up to those who are, that hard to grasp? I try not to be aggravated but you asking me to help you help me is fucking weird.
— Tynisa the Cynical Gen X Witch Walker (@Kalarigamerchic) May 31, 2020
Why do black people have to teach everyone about racism? Take it upon YOURSELVES. Especially white Americans. This is not a new concept. Police brutality against black people has BEEN going on. Stop burdening our black communities when they’re already dealing with so much.
For all my fellow white friends and family, I urge you to look at this site and to educate yourselves, do not look to poc to teach you.https://t.co/hw8Hz3MOTT
Fellow white people that are doing this, just stop! Pick up a book, teach yourself. Stand up to racists. Take the burden off of black people to end racism cause it is not their responsibility. https://t.co/9bQfCZYu2k
— KatieTeamKYandTeamJoeandKamala🏳️🌈 (@artnmusic4life) May 31, 2020
Fellow white people—do your own research or find sources already available. The black people you are asking to teach you should not have that responsibility put on them. It is not their job to teach you how to support them. They are going through enough trauma, teach yourself.
#white folks. Do not ask our BIPOC comrades to #educate you right now. Or ever. But especially right now. It’s the information age. Do a fucking google search on “racial inequality”. I guarantee you’ll be able to teach yourself for the next 6 months minimum.
— (((Joseph))) Black Lives Matter✊🏿 (@joseph_dov) June 1, 2020
Being useful? Wow move around. In the time it took you to write that asshole reply you could've just looked it up. Many poc especially black people are tired of white ppl telling them to teach them. like teach yourself 🙄
Word of advise to white and nonblack POC, don’t be hopping into your black friends’, mutuals, and just randos inboxes to hold your therapy sessions to absolve your guilt.
Already talking to a friend who has had paragraphs upon paragraphs of pure white quilt and tears.
Regarding those last few tweets, it’s fairly common to see White people wanting to be absolved of guilt by having the forgiveness or approval of a Black person or people.
However, this is merely placing more emotional labor and weight on those who are already suffering from oppression, to make yourself feel lighter.
Working through and unlearning our conditioning into racism is hard work, sometimes painful, and always a lifelong process. You can’t authentically work on your own psychosocial dynamics if your motive is to “look better” to someone else or gain their approval.
Furthermore, no matter how hard we work on it, no one owes you or me absolution. That’s not how this works. Become better because it’s the right thing to do and will make society better for all of us.
It is NOT black folks job to absolve ur feelings of white guilt. That is entirely your job.
But the first thing you have to do is question why you don’t have any Black friends. Do you live in a mostly white community? Why do you live there? Do you go to a mostly white gym? Why? You have to examine the choices you’ve made that led to your mostly white surroundings.