Welcome.

So glad you're here. We've got a lot of work to do. Over the last eight years, I've been seIf educating on race relations, racial justice, white supremacy, and privilege in America, and well, it's BAD. I'm convinced that change will not come until more white people wake up and take action. Some of you will be uncomfortable with the actions I suggest. Some might already be taking them, but until we educate ourselves, rather than ask a POC to explain things to us or help us get through our feelings, until we step onto the front lines with our black and brown brothers and sisters and admit that we benefit greatly from being a member of the dominant race, until we pay all the opportunities and privilege the color of our skin has afforded us forward to those who are oppressed by a racist system, until we call our friends and family out on their ignorance and hate, nobody is free. Privilege is a spectrum, I get it, but in an age where the President of this country does nothing to support the victims of white bigotry and hate, and is advised by white nationalists, we have a spiritual responsibility to keep marginalized folks safe, use our privilege for good, and speak truth to power. It's gonna get messy, but I hope you find this newsletter a useful tool in the pursuit of much needed change.  

I'll be posting content I find relevant to this work weekly, and I'm very open to suggestions. 

In the wake of an act of domestic terrorism.

Dos and Don'ts.

• DO: "Now is the time for every decent white American to prove he or she loves this country by actively speaking out against the scourge this bigotocracy represents." Read more of Michael Eric Dyson's Op-Ed for the New York Times. Then read his latest book, Tears We Cannot Stop, A Sermon To White America. It's brilliant.
   
• DON'T: We witnessed racist violent American history repeat itself in Charlottesville this weekend, which for black folk, is painful in a way we've never experienced. If you're lucky enough to share space with POC, do not be alarmed if they don't want to talk about it with you. "Be peaceful" is what Black people are told when they demonstrate against a system which is legally killing them for breathing, walking or playing with a toy gun in a park. However, when white supremacists rally against a decision to remove a statue of Robert E Lee, which leads to violence, the death of an anti-racism activist and dozens injured, the President doesn't even denounce it. Give them all the space they need, and the respect they deserve during this replay of America's dark and ugly past. 
   
• DO: Familiarize yourselves with racial terror in America. Here's a short history by the Equal Justice Initiative. Consume everything Bryan Stevenson says, builds and writes. This is why our Black and Brown brothers and sisters are traumatized.
   
• DO: Read this thread by Julius Goat imagining a world where the alt-right actually is oppressed like they say they are. It will give you perspective.
   
• DO: Understand your privilege as a white person. 
   
• DO: Learn to be a good ally, thanks to the brilliant Franchesca Ramsey. 
   
• DO: "To be light (skin) meant to live." WATCH image activist, Michaela Angela Davis discuss "Domestic Terrorism" at CreativeMornings New York. 
   
• DO: Donate and support the legal fund for the Charlottesville, VA anti-racist activists.
   
• DO: Attend a vigil for the victims of Charlottesville, VA.