Love And Justice Are Not Two*
It has been a gut wrenching and horrific week where I raged, screamed, cried, and worked hard not to lash out, returned to my tools of self-care, and compassionately worked on re-grounding and aligning my awareness as best I could.
Today, I am able to share what I believe, and what is required to move forward.
1. I believe there is an insidious foundational system built within our country that operates and feeds on fear, scarcity, and separation. The system is white supremacy and racism. Honestly naming the system and owning how it has infiltrated all of us and you is the start of the Work my white friends.
2. I believe that this ingrained mindset of scarcity creates structures of hierarchy that breed oppression and the dehumanization of people and that become the cesspool of trauma and shame. Re-read that last sentence again and truly take in its truth and its reflection within you. This is why the Work of re-learning our true American history and understanding how the cumulative behaviours of racism, abuse of power, and structures of white supremacy keep us all trapped in the cesspool of trauma and shame. The trauma of dehumanization is overtly obvious in BIPOC, but that dehumanization leaves its corroding residue on and in you too my white friends.
3. I believe that this legacy of compounded shame keeps us separated from our true essence of wholeness, empathy, and love for ourselves that then establishes the limitations of the love, empathy, and wholeness with which we see and value others. You see, I don’t believe we can give others what we first can not wholeheartedly give ourselves. This is the deep, heart shattering, introspective part of the Work — and this is usually that part where you, my white friends, shy away, don’t prioritize the time, and flat out resist because digging into our shadows is not typically fun… but is absolutely critical for our liberation.
4. I believe that what we create and build is created from the same energy and love that exists within us. This is the part where, white friends, we live our Work in the beliefs and systems we create within our families, communities, and society. Understanding this will require us to rebuild and re-image systems that have operated for centuries and are imbued with fear, scarcity, and human separation.
As an Afro-latina, I have spent years in therapy and doing the Work to unpeel and unpack the insidious overlay of white supremacy and racism in my life for my internal freedom and liberation. Unfortunately, my white friends, the times of now, the times of today require that You fast track yourself through this journey for your internal freedom and our collective liberation.
And yes I get it, it feels scary, it feels overwhelming because the urgency of our times is upon you my white friends, and despite the many wake up calls you snoozed away or didn’t make the time for, the volumes of literature you chose to ignore, and the screams from BIPOC people you dismissed and denied, we find ourselves here — where the call for Humanity’s Freedom and Liberation is ringing loud.
And it will require you doing the Work, so that we can all ‘move forward to the place none of us have seen’*, but is the place that we all come from. I believe deeply in our Humanity, your Humanity, and know we will get there together, because we are stronger together and it is what the system has never wanted…us being TOGETHER.
4 things you can do today to start:
- Relearn the truth of our American history by grabbing a copy of ‘Stamped From The Beginning’ by Ibram X. Kendi @DrIbram
- Begin your introspection Work by grabbing a copy of White Fragility by Robin D’Angelo and YES I am fully aware that there are volumes of literature written by incredible black people but what I have also come to learn is that becoming aware of your whiteness from a white voice lands with a level of internalized perspective that our content does not. Download the 10/8/2019 episode of @theoptin podcast where Kelly and I interview Robin D’Angelo. https://theoptin.buzzsprout.com/598702/1824181-white-fragility-with-robin-diangelo
- Build your stamina for the commitment and accountability it will take after the headlines fade, you make mistakes, and you hit the bumpy part of your unfolding to be a white person committed to proactively dismantling racism in your home, your work and our society. Follow April Harter, Dr. Amanda Kemp and Angel Kyodo Williams to name a few.
- Support anti-racism initiatives with your dollars — your local bail bond fund, the ACLU, Black Lives Matter, NAACP — and support your local Black owned businesses
The above list is not at all comprehensive or exhaustive, it is merely a start for those waking up to what is beckoned of white American people at this time. More anti-racism resources can be found via google, following critical black voices as well as at @theoptin.
I believe in you, because I believe in me.
I LOVE YOU.
Quote/* Learnings from rev. angel Kyoto williams
