Brief Report Back 2/10 Wednesday "What Will White Wombn Do To End Racism?" to be continue

After doing our usual check in sharing our challenges and successes in addressing racism/anti-racism, we began by focusing on the desire of some white wombn to befriend Black and brown wombn. 

So first of all, we talked about our motivation for wanting Black 'friends': are we seeking a token Black person to enable us to feel less racist? Are we feeling the utter bereftness of lacking diverse friends in our lives? Are we coming from wanting to be the 'white savior' or 'helping' roles? We touched on reparations vs restitution vs 'mutual aid' vs charity.

We discussed the need to first examine the ways in which we have 'naturally' and/or intentionally EXCLUDED Black and brown people from our lives. This is another one of the hardest things for white people to do. But it is the honest thing about becoming/increasing our anti-racist skills & work. 

Some of the ways we identified included: did we choose to surround ourselves with white neighbors; did proximity to wealth, 'good' schools, responsive police contribute to our choices; do we shop at white-owned businesses; do we flaunt our wealth; do we eat at white owned/white clientele restaurants; how do we hold onto our programmed fear of Black people and transmit that loud and clear; and more.

If our neighbors are Black or brown, have we reached out, introduced ourselves, if they're recent neighbors welcomed them, offered our contact info, see if they want to hang out in the backyard, on the porch covid-distanced, share a meal, a coffee, go for a walk, let your neighbor know you are available if they need anything, if new if they have any questions - you know, do the neighborly thang - build friendships.

We moved on to how to find ways to share resources and to identify and support the voices, lives, goals of Black and brown people. Making sure when we spend money, ESPECIALLY big money like rent or mortgages (Black owned bank or credit union), it goes into the pockets of Black and brown wombn. Connecting on an racial justice level: find out which church projects, social justice organizations, prison/police abolition groups are local and what kind of support they need. 

Easiest thing to not ignore are homeless people: adopt a homeless wombn mother, find out what she needs; cook and feed encampments and arrange for portapotties and garbage pickup; organize neighbors with resources to adopt a block that is poverty-stricken; go to the neighborhood school that you won't send your own child to and find out what they need; go to jails, police stations, courts and you'll see the stricken family members if not the incarcerated - find out what they need.

It is first through our work at untangling and eliminating our own blindness to racism and work at conscious, determined anti-racism, and then in our work tipping back the 'level playing field', that enables us to be ready and available to form real, meaningful relationships with not 'just' Black and brown people should they decide to choose us as friends and/or allies, but also with white people also working on abolishing racism.

We also talked briefly about the racist/sexist attacks against Kamala Harris - as "she didn't earn her spot", "she needs to be impeached/imprisoned" and some counter moves as first asking what exactly do they mean, not 'earning'.

In the efforts of reach/not reach, knowing Kamala Harris's record: do they know she was a sex-crime prosecutor from her first job out of law school when hardly any men were arrested let alone prosecuted for domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment? Maybe men want to turn back time to the good ole abuse impunity days?

Then pointing out "imprison" theme seems to be the go-to for white men when wombn try to exert political strength. Or are they just doing a repeat performance of their attacks on Hillary Clinton?

Resources:

Evangelists for Social Action - Nikki Toyama-Szeto

13th documentary Ava DuVernay

1619 Project - Nikole Hannah-Jones https://nikolehannahjones.com/

My Grandmother's Hands - Resmaa Menakem