Right now we are living among two global pandemics. One is COVID-19, and the other, deep-rooted in hundreds of years, racism. In particular, anti-black racism. We need to begin to name it, in order to tame it. Anti-black racism is rooted in systemic policies, and North America was essentially founded on it. With the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbrry, all within a two month period, it is time to be open in having conversations and make changes.
Black lives matter and now is the time (and beyond today, tomorrow and next week) to amplify their voices as they’ve been marginalized for far too long. We, at I Am Resilient, come from a place of privilege as white women, and we are continuing to learn how to navigate this privilege. Unfortunately, it took us far too long to immerse ourselves in learning about anti-black racism, and it is time to acknowledge it and change it.
Growing up in Canada it might be easy to think “oh, we don’t have this problem here, that’s an America problem.” Well, that is simply not true. Not only do we have anti-black racism when it comes to how police treat black people (and other POC) during mental health crises, we also struggle with hundreds of years of oppression towards Indigenous people.
Over the next few blog posts, I will be sharing what I consume, as a way to better understand my own white privilege and how that’s carried me through life so far. Also, I hope that through my consumption, I can share resources of what I’ve found helpful.
This work of unlearning and learning is a marathon, not a sprint, as I am only at the beginning of my learnings. My lists won’t be extensive, as I want to be able to share information and resources with intention. One thing I’ve learned and will be practicing is using trigger warnings when sharing graphic content or personal stories, as to not re-traumatize any readers. I welcome you to engage in conversations with me, call me out as I make mistakes, and share what you’ve learned.
Written by Alana Kaplan, Project Manager for the I Am Resilient Project.