Please Note: Many of the recent blog posts have been converted from posts previously found on our community forum. As the website has been restructured, these posts have been re-posted on the main blog page in order to ensure content remained available.
In the past few weeks, our nation has seen how deeply entrenched systemic racism has become in our society. We have, like never before, seen this racism claim life after life. I say, "like we've never seen before" not because it hasn't been continually happening for far too long, but because social media is increasing the visibility of these unnecessary evils. Why people rationalize senseless death and murder is heartbreaking. We must be united in the understanding that Black Lives Matter. We must understand that we, in the white community, will never understand because our privilege prevents us from experiencing racism ourselves. But, although my white experiences may be different than those of my fellow brothers and sisters in the black community, that doesn't excuse me from the need to do my part to try and understand what I can, to pray and be thoughtful, considerate, and compassionate. I know that I may not have the right words, but I also know that allowing the fear of saying the wrong thing to silence me from saying anything at all would be equally as hurtful. I may take time to process and to pray so that my thoughts are thoughtful, but my thoughts need to be expressed because I have a responsibility to not put the burden of fear, of education, of fixing the problem on those who are hurting and oppressed. And even if we don't know the words to say, we must use our voices to amplify their cries for rights that should have long ago been recognized. My privilege should not come at the expense of their rights- their lives. I might not be able to change the past wrongs of a nation, I must take accountability for my own lack of understanding, my lack of growth and education, my misunderstandings. I might not be able to change the world, but I can change myself. I can share resources and promote and amplify black voices so that others might also engage in personal growth. If each of us grows as individuals then the world grows too and that's where the most important change starts: in people's hearts. Below you will find a living collection of resources to aid in personal growth as we fight systemic racisms starting in our own minds and hearts! Please feel free to comment below with other resources you find helpful or wish for people to utilize! Live Authentically, Claire M. Podcasts to Listen To: Books to Read: What to Watch: Good Ancestor Podcast So You Want to Talk About Race Dear White People New York Times' 1619 Beloved Malcolm X Groundings The New Jim Crow Hidden Figures NPR's Code Switch Between the World and Me Dark Girls Radical Imagination The Hate You Give King in the Wilderness