Emma Whitney Photography

Change is uncomfortable. Growing is painful. This isn’t easy. We are shifting deep pattens that go back many hundreds of years. Time to bloom. Move forward with love.

In the midst of it all, I am reminding myself of the importance of joy. If we deny our selves, avert our eyes and say how dare I feel that way in a time of such unrest, we are of no good to anyone. If we forget what we are working towards, we will not make it. Keep the light in your heart as you face the shadows. Experiencing joy is the way through. Dance, sing, jump, play, rest, hug, roar, swing, watch cute animal/baby videos, do whatever it is that fills your body with joy. We need us all to keep going, together. Don’t give up. Do your best. Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Keep going. We’ve got this.

Too often, when the noise quiets, we turn away. White people have always been able to turn away. Now is the time to stay steady, hold the course, do not look away, keep going. Look within and to others and find your way to make this better. Time for a new way. Time to stop this from repeating itself.

Our work (White people) is to learn how to be anti racist. Listen. Learn. Make mistakes. Try again. Do better. Be better. This work is long, hard, uncomfortable, so layered, and complicated. This is generations deep work and is not over when we’re done reposting a quote. It’s barely begun. There are SO MANY resources. SO MANY people talking about how. Listen to black and brown people. PAY THEM. They are teaching us. Give them money for their labor. Do not just take. Give back. We pay our teachers. Do the work. Finish the job. Time for this to change, for real.

This is what my life feels like. I am loved, I can walk freely in the world, I am not scared that my child will be pepper sprayed in the face when we walk down the street (yes that is happening right now in America), I am not scared that I will be hit in the face with a rubber bullet for simply standing on the sidewalk (happening now), I am not scared to walk in the world, I am not scared to drive for fear of being killed because I have a broken down car and dare to be black,... I am no scared to sleep in my own home in fear that I will be shot as I lay in bed by police through my windows, walls, and doors because I am black, I am not scared because I am white. My Jewish parts don’t show. Most police/people aren’t violently biased against Jews like they are black and brown people right now anyway. I am safe. I am privileged. I am not scared. I am outraged. It is easy for me to turn away, I just stop looking at my feed. I turn it off and can pretend it’s not happening. I don’t live in in Minneapolis anymore, I can turn it off. I’m white, I can turn it off. This is my privilege. I will not turn it off. It is my responsibility to not turn away. It is my responsibility to give my support who can NEVER turn away. It is my responsibility to do better. It is my responsibility to be better. It is my responsibility to put my privilege to work so that we all have the same rights. It’s your responsibility too. You being safe does not mean that am not safe. We can all be safe. We can all be safe to exist. In order for this to be true, we have to act. We have to act NOW. We haven’t done enough before and that’s why the cries have reached the levels they are now. Act NOW. I’m sorry. I will do better. I will be better. We all deserve to feel this safe. See more