We support all of the protests happening around the world right now and stand in solidarity with the entire Black community against the systemic racism that plagues society.
Inaction is complicity, so ask yourself what you’re doing during this time and, more importantly, why you’re doing it. Social Media is an invaluable tool for education, enrichment and positive change however it is also inherently performative. When you’re lending your voice to the cacophony, interrogate your reasoning and what you as an individual are doing to affect the change you’re calling out for. If you can’t donate money, you can donate your time by attending protests or signing petitions.
The onus is not on the oppressed to enact change or to educate. If you’re white, it is your responsibility to acknowledge and use your privilege. White people have a duty to fight racism in our society in every toxic form it takes, but equally white people will never be able to understand the collective grief and anger of the Black community because they lack the necessary empathy to comprehend the experiences of anyone who isn’t white.
When white people start to understand how little they can understand what’s happening, that acknowledgement creates a space for positive change. Sharing violent, graphic imagery and videos endlessly to your story or creating attention-seeking posts that call for more action are hollow without a complete understanding that white people will always be part of the problem because they perpetuate and benefit directly from the systems that have been killing Black people for centuries.
Coming out as ‘not racist’ means very little to nothing at all without accepting responsibility. The guilt that any rational white person is and should be feeling this week is meaningless if they aren’t putting in the work to fully understand the complex layers of racism in our society and the privileges afforded to white people as a result.
Anger means nothing if it only lasts a day and doesn’t instil action.
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