On Social Issues - My Stance
This originally started out as a Facebook post, but it kept getting longer and longer to the point that I thought it best to put it on the blog. This one is addressed to my white readers - though everyone is of course welcome to read it. I’ve made the mistake once of addressing white people and not being clear about that, and I’m not making that mistake again. I’m not breaking this post up with pretty pictures of fiber. Yes, it’s long, and yet never going to be long enough.
I hope you will read this, though I am aware that some people, as they are being hit with this everywhere they turn, will retreat further into their bubbles because they are so desperate to cling to their blissful ignorance. Honestly, if you’re one of those people, if you’re about to exit out of this window and unfollow my page as a result, I hope that there will come a point to where this becomes so loud that, just like the BIPOC who have been hunted and murdered relentlessly by the oppressors, there will be nowhere left that is safe to hide from the truth, because they never could. And for one tiny split second of a moment in your life will you get the smallest glimpse into what it’s like to not be able to run away from this. The only way you can make it stop is if you help to make things change. Hiding behind Trump will only get you the authoritarian regime that you claim you don’t want. If you do want a taste of authoritarianism for the preservation of status quo, may I suggest moving to Belarus? It’s certainly “quiet” there…
I was initially going to include BIPOC fiber artists and providers in this post; however, I decided to split it off into a separate post (and a separate directory of BIPOC-owned farms) for several reasons. First of all, I realized in compiling my list that it was rather short, which wasn’t good enough. And then, the more I thought about it, I felt that tacking it onto the end of this post wouldn’t give them the attention that I would like to give them. Then, in the process of researching for that post, one of the individuals I connected with taught me about a part of our more recent history that I was completely unaware of. Because that pertains specifically to land access/ownership of minorities (which then pertains to the fiber world, because someone’s gotta raise the sheep), I want to take a few more days reading about that (so yes, that post is going to also address a few things in continuation of what I’m addressing here). Also, I really wanted to devote a bit more time into looking through all the amazing posts of the new accounts that I’ve found before I share it with you (yes, I know I’m being selfish). I’m not just collecting resources for a post, I need to spend time with them.
While I did already follow a few BIPOC artists, I fully admit that I hadn’t made more of an effort to connect with the BIPOC community before now - I merely followed whomever popped into my feed whose work I loved while following certain hashtags that weren’t specific to BIPOC creators. While I didn’t intentionally avoid them, I wasn’t trying either, and for that I am sorry. For anyone who is confused by this statement, I realized that this is a different sort of “color-blindness,” which I didn’t consider until I saw some white individuals talking about how “race shouldn’t matter” when I did try to look for BIPOC providers (I’ll get into that in the next post). Then I thought “wait, was I unintentionally doing the same thing by not looking for more diversity within the group I follow?”
I did include a number of BIPOC educators at the end of this list, including ones who provide resources for teaching our kids, and the post itself has tons of links to various resources. This is, after all, an educational post.
Considering there are so many books, articles, podcasts, documentaries and courses dedicated to learning how the American government keeps shafting its minorities over a century after slavery ended and decades after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream,” it’s near impossible to condense everything into a blog post.
When I write BIPOC, it is as an inclusive term for Black, Indigenous and People of Color. I have seen some say that it is for Black and Indigenous People of Color, exclusive of other minorities. The BIPOC project, which I believe coined the acronym since various sources (such as this one) points to that one, says it’s inclusive, but also separates Black and Indigenous from People of Color, because all People of Color do not share the same experiences. I will specifically use Black or Indigenous when referring specifically to those communities only, and the majority of this post is going to be about racism both historically and more current that primarily affects Black communities, though I do mention a few things involving Indigenous folx. I’m still learning, and doing my best to use the appropriate terms, without trying to exclude anyone. I know there are a number of people in those communities that are mixed, who don’t identify only with one group.
What prompted this post
I was thinking about something a friend mentioned about a content creator whom she follows (not part of the fiber community, a different one), one with a large platform, who seems to always take the path of least resistance when it comes to discussions on issues. And that’s if she’s not avoiding them altogether, whether those issues are within that particular community or on a more global scale. While I personally don't have a massive platform compared to many of the creators out there (yet, I don’t think, but I don’t really check my analytics), and while my work currently does not reflect social issues, that's not to say it never will. So I might as well get it out there now. I've had some ideas to make at least a few social justice art pieces at some point, maybe as a side project (like contributing to the Tiny Pricks project). I would also like to think that most people who have been following me and do pay attention when I write about more personal matters know where I stand. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned craftivism at least once, and I can't remember if I posted in support of Ravelry a few months ago. I think I did on Facebook, though those posts tend to get no engagement and end up buried, so they’re either ignored or not seen. I don’t know. I realize that in other ways, I haven't necessarily been very clear about it either.
“We are trying to show him not only what we are fighting against, but what we are fighting for. So many of these boys have only a very hazy idea of the real issues of the war. About all they see is “going back to the good old days.” This is a dangerous state. If they don’t stand for something, they will fall for anything. They need to realize that we are fighting two wars—the war of arms and the war of ideas—that other war of which the war of arms is one phase.”
I know that silence is compliance, and this is a very important issue. I don’t want to give any of my readers or followers the idea of this being a “white safe space,” or that I am someone who would agree with them on these matters just because I haven’t really addressed them publicly. This is something that I deeply care about.
Last disclaimer: I do not profess to be an expert on race or racism. I am still learning. I’m always learning. I’m just passing on what I’ve learned.
I think the biggest problem is the fact that so many white people seem to be blindsided by what’s going on, and where this anger came from. They think this is all just about the murder of George Floyd (it’s really not). Or they’ll say “white people get murdered by Black cops, why isn’t anyone upset about that?” We ARE. Nobody at all should be murdered by any law enforcement - they are not judge, jury and executioner. Everyone in this country has a right to due process. I have not seen the word “murder” in the definitions of “serve” and “protect.” Why did you wait until the Black community started protesting their murders to say something? Why aren’t you protesting the killings of unarmed citizens? LEOs do disproportionately murder Black and indigenous individuals more than white people. Why aren’t you marching with them? Why defend the police instead? Because “what about me?” Would you care if they said white people too? What if they had marched while shouting “all lives matter” as you like to retort, would you then be okay with it? You really think that people are saying “Black lives matter, but feel free to kill the white ones?” Anyway, it is so much more than “one tragic incident.” It’s hundreds of thousands of “tragic incidents” that never seem to end, and everyone around the world has had enough. I’m really not going to entertain and correct the memes I’ve seen floating around shared by those in opposition to Black Lives Matter, because I have yet to see one that isn’t plagued with logical fallacies. People are going to look for confirmation bias anywhere they can. The goal isn’t to change everyone’s minds, it’s to make sure that especially in the eyes of the government and the law, everyone, regardless of race, is treated equally. Assholes are going to be assholes. They’re not that important in the grand scheme of things unless they hold positions of power, and then yeah, someone should probably either talk to them, or have them removed from that position if they’re unwilling to listen.
america has never had a post-racial society.
Here’s one rhetorical question. Why is there this massive cognitive dissonance that takes place when discussing WW2 history and American history?
Where does the word “ghetto” come from?
How many people know Hitler admired America’s Jim Crow laws and ideas/implementation of white supremacy?
Does anyone know who Madison Grant was?
Why did Hitler name his train after America?
And while we’re at it, before we go on about how these amazing Allied saviors came to rescue the Third Reich’s victims, why didn’t the US do anything about the concentration camps when they found out about them? Maybe it’s because they thought “oh hey, that actually sounds like a great idea. Let’s try it ourselves!”
In fact, America wanted to stay neutral. There was nothing honorable about their fight, it was only after it became personal. That’s not to say that some who fought in the war didn’t do so for honorable reasons, but the US as a whole didn’t care.
If we were so great, as to want to be great again, why did our greatness inspire someone who is regarded as one of the most evil individuals to have lived in the past century?
When the allied forces fought the axis powers, did it feel like shadowboxing?
So, again, why the cognitive dissonance? Does the span of time over which it occurred make a difference? Why is America’s collective past not considered as bad as WW2? And why do we keep asking minorities, especially Black and Indigenous people, to just get over it?
What happens when wars end? When laws change? Is it like the end of a chapter in a book? Do you flip the page and suddenly everything’s better?
When Hitler committed suicide, when the treaties were signed, and the Allied forces returned home, certain parts of Europe were still very much going through another war of their own, albeit a lot quieter, called the Cold War - many people were still murdered during this time, with estimates of over 20 million. Could be more than that, but nobody really kept track.
When the Civil War ended, and the last slaves were freed on June 19th, 1865 (which now goes by the name of Juneteenth, which the Black community celebrates as independence day), Black people weren’t suddenly treated as equals. The Restoration period only lasted about 30 years. What followed was a century of Black codes, Jim Crow laws, and American citizens taking matters into their own hands. Many Black people continued to be murdered during this time. Nobody knows how many, because nobody really kept track.
When the Allied forces, which had members of all races, returned home, Black veterans weren’t even allowed to ride in the same cars as their white brothers-in-arms. They risked their lives in a war for the very country that inspired Hitler in the first place, only to return to segregation, being treated as second class citizens, and hunted regularly by law enforcement, white supremacist hate groups and racist community members. America has had its own “cold war” since the very beginning, the difference being that the tensions have been between the white supremacy and BIPOC minority. It’s not another country versus the US, it’s a civil cold war. There is no middle ground - if you do not stand with minorities, you are in support of white supremacy. As the quote I included above states, if you do not stand for something, you’ll fall for anything - this is a war of ideas. Yes, it is that dire, and it’s time to wake up.
While I could go way back further into history, I am pretty sure nobody living in our modern day believes that prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, they were living in a post-racial society. I say modern day, because at the time when Martin Luther King Jr. was marching, writing his letters and making his speeches, white people did in fact believe they were living in a post-racial society, and really weren’t sure what all the fuss was about. In fact, they hated him. The problem is, much like any such laws that had been passed prior, such as the Emancipation Proclamation (which technically only freed slaves in the rebel states), it’s not like a law is passed and the entire country has a sudden change of heart. In fact, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968 - 3 and 4 years after those Acts were passed. Things were far from over. And like the soviet-occupied countries in post-war Europe, many people have died for a long time, most of them with little to no attention, other times with more attention drawn to it, for decades to follow, and nobody kept track (more on that in a minute). Those segregation laws severely affected Black people’s ability to accumulate any sort of wealth and to move out of their designated neighborhoods once redlining was outlawed with the Fair Housing Act. Pulling yourself up by the bootstraps is a myth. There is no such thing as a self-made millionaire. The white middle class was created thanks to handouts from the government. Public housing, which is now largely occupied by minorities, was initially built for white working and middle class Americans. 100 years ago, white people were given a massive financial boost by the government, but after the civil rights movement, the government with the help of the media actively worked to change the public perception of government assistance from that of a necessary social obligation to help the underprivileged (paired with images of poor white families) to that of handouts for the drug addicted and lazy (paired with images of poor Black families), in order to encourage the voting population to support cutting funding to social programs. Nowadays, suggesting even half of what the government offered (back when people think it was great, but I know that’s not what the current administration is referring to) is met with bullshit fearmongering attempts to convince everyone it’s socialism or even communism. Wow. We have all been played for a fool.
*Quick note on something which was not included in this last paragraph because I need to gather more information for a coherent argument to include in next post - while there were definitely poor Black families who were struggling to get a head start in life, there were also Black families who had indeed accumulated wealth and land despite all the cards being stacked against them, and the government stole their gains from them through eminent domain policies. So it’s not just that they were left in the dust, the government stole from them and gave that to white folx and then Black folx had to try to climb their way back up again, and again, and again. Seriously, America?
And in case you’re wondering what the Voting Rights Act was all about… while technically Black men were allowed to vote after the civil war, and technically Black women were allowed to vote with the 19th amendment, many states passed extremely restrictive laws making it prohibitive for most to do so. And indigenous people still couldn’t vote then, because they weren’t even considered citizens until 1924. The Voting Rights Act made it easier for everyone to vote, including the poor, illiterate white. By the way, states are still trying to re-implement certain policies because they are claiming voter fraud. By the way, voter fraud isn’t as much of a thing as some would claim. The only “fraud” that’s had any significant impact on undermining our democracy comes from the politicians themselves mainly through spreading misinformation (that was the main issue with the “russian hackers” - it’s not that they hacked the machines directly, it was through a deliberate tactic called “election trolling”), or redrawing lines to benefit a specific partisan side in the form of gerrymandering, or just out right blatantly attempting to keep minorities from voting, period. Quote below from this last link:
“This will be extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia,” Ralston, a Republican from Blue Ridge, said during an interview with Fetch Your News, a North Georgia news site. “Every registered voter is going to get one of these. … This will certainly drive up turnout.”
Isn’t democracy supposed to include the entire population? Not just the ones cherrypicked to help them win? Sorry not sorry, but if increasing voter turn-out is a guaranteed loss on your part, you were never the flippin’ winner to begin with.
Why am I bringing up Jim Crow laws when they’ve been outlawed? Because they were never completely abolished. Legally they were, but if you can get a Black man killed because he doesn’t look, speak, or behave a certain way, and then that officer is protected behind qualified immunity, how the Four-letter-word is this different?
I’m going to quickly point out how, if you pay close attention, passing civil rights measures benefits us all. The 24th amendment was passed in 1964 abolishing poll taxes. Do you like the idea of having to pay poll taxes to perform your civic duty? Just think of all the other freedoms and benefits you’re missing out on because of systemic racism. It harms everyone. This is what people mean about voting against your own self-interests, just because BIPOC might stand to benefit from it. That’s why the government tries to keep us divided. I remember a conversation with one of my close friends, in which we compared the relationship of the American government to that of a malignant narcissistic abuser (I mean, it even has the ego), the white majority being the golden child, and minority groups, in particular Black and indigenous folx, are the scapegoats. If you are familiar with that relationship dynamic, think about it.
Soon after the Civil Rights Acts were passed, another way the government changed its tactics was with the infamous “war on drugs.” Well of course, you say, drugs are bad! Except this was specifically meant as an excuse or a disguise to target minorities. Some cities took it a step further, like NYC’s stop-and-frisk laws, which disproportionately targeted Black and brown folx. While people of all races use drugs, there was a real campaign to specifically target and, in the public’s mind, associate Black and brown folx with drug use.
Former domestic police chief under President Nixon was quoted as saying:
“You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities,” Ehrlichman said. “We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
And why would we care so much about incarcerating as many minorities as possible for nonviolent crimes? Or simply targeting Black people, arresting, making shit up on the paperwork and having them sentenced for things they didn’t do (there are people in prison today where the situation is the officer’s word against the accused, and there’s nothing stopping a police officer from making shit up)? Well, other than the fact that it’s a major human rights violation and unconstitutional, several reasons… one, we have a for-profit prison industry. Two, slavery is still very much alive. The constitution outlawed slavery except as a punishment for a crime. So the US rebranded slavery, came up with excuses to specifically target the very minorities that had been freed, and put them back to work. Three, until December of 2019, convicted felons in 47 states couldn’t vote. Ever. Even if they’ve served their time. Most states recently changed that. Four: a thing called prison gerrymandering. Most prisoners can’t vote, but they’re still counted on the census, and therefore are counted towards the representatives, who will pretend they’re their constituents. The message isn’t just to stop killing Black people. While that is a very important first step, stop racial profiling and targeting, period. It’s not a crime to be Black or brown.
We don’t really know how many Black and Indigenous people have been murdered at the hands of cops, because there is no official organization collecting this data. Why? We seem to collect data on just about everything else. Mapping Police Violence is the best source of data I could find, but even that was only started in 2013, and even they admit that their data is going to be incomplete. It is compiled by tracking reports from the media. From the government/LEO side of things, nobody is tracking it (if they are, it’s somehow unknown/inaccessible to anyone on the outside - this number is likely to be greater). On the other hand, we do seem to track how many LEOs have died in the line of duty (also, realize that it’s about 50/50 felonious vs accidental deaths, those totals are not civilians shooting at cops). But we’re not going to track the guys with the guns… ok.
And for every one murdered, countless more are stopped and arrested for no reason at all, other than the fact that they’re not white.
I know, good cops do exist. But realize that the moment they stand up for what’s right, they are harassed by other officers or lose their jobs. NYPD 12 sued the city of New York and the NYPD because of forced racial quotas. Former officer Cariol Horne lost her job and her pension for attempting to stop an officer who was clearly using excessive force. There are more stories out there like this.
How do you “get over” the harm done to your people when it’s never ended?
I am absolutely 100% in support of Black Lives Matter. Think about it - much of the country seems to love the underdog in movies and TV shows, but here you have a real life underdog fighting for their lives against an oppressive government, and people are on the side of the oppressor? Since when did it ever make sense to be on that side? There are no cookies on the dark side. You do not get brownie points or gold stars. You earn absolutely nothing for supporting the government in this. And before anyone says “well, all lives matter” of course they do… but you focus on the thing that needs attention. It’s not only Black lives matter, it is Black lives matter TOO. When the rainforest is burning, and people campaign to save the rainforest, you don’t say “well all forests matter” do you? Of course not! You’re worried about the one that’s on fire.
Do not come at me with blue lives matter.
Although they are also legally civilians, they matter far more than any other civilian in this country. They matter so much that if you kill one in an act of self defense, you’ll be as likely to get your charges dropped as the cops are likely to be convicted of murder. They matter so much that they’ll frame anyone they were shooting at when they kill one of their own with friendly fire. And it’s practically impossible to fire them.
Blue lives matter was a response directed at Black Lives Matter for the purpose of undermining the movement - nobody was saying blue lives anything until people started protesting.
They don’t even make the top ten list of most dangerous jobs. Logging is the most dangerous. Why isn't anyone saying logger’s lives matter? That would make about as much sense as blue lives matter.
Have you ever even seen an LEO funeral? The pomp!
You’re really not that likely to die as a cop. Here are the stats for 2019. Some of the deaths (while absolutely tragic, death is tragic) involved drownings and not wearing their seatbelts when they were in an accident… Less than half were felonious. If someone shares a graphic with higher stats, be aware the higher number will include things like cancer deaths from first responders from 9/11 and heart attacks. For statistical purposes, while I couldn’t find the exact number of law enforcement currently sworn in the US, this site says over 800k. There’s another number on there that caught my attention, total deaths since 1786, when they first started tracking it (remember… slave patrols…) over its entire 234 year history is 22,217. On the other hand, since 2013 (using the data from mapping police violence which I linked above), they have killed over a quarter of that number of civilians over the course of 8 years. Had deaths at the hands of LEO been tracked over 234 years, including the number of slave deaths, that number would easily be at minimum in the hundreds of thousands. I’m going to repeat this again. LEOs are sworn to protect and serve. LEOs are not judge, jury and executioner. Everyone has the right to due process. Death should only be in the case of self-defense. You know what’s not self-defense? Murdering a woman who was sleeping in her own home after barging in with a no-knock order. Murdering a child who was running away during a routine traffic stop. Murdering a man in a Walmart who picked up a BB gun which he intended to purchase. And most certainly, it’s not murdering a man whose only crime was to use a fake $20, which can happen to anyone. Think about it, that could’ve been an accident! Every time I hear a story about a Black man or woman being murdered by the cops, it had nothing to do with self-defense. “If they only listened” DOES NOT FUCKING COUNT, because need I remind you that police officers are NOT judge, jury and executioner. If you murder anyone “because they didn’t listen” you’d be sitting in a jail cell. I advise you look up the definition of self-defense.
A chosen profession does not equate race. You choose to be a cop. You do not have to be a cop. There are thousands of other jobs to choose from. Black, Indigenous, and people of color do not get to choose this, they don’t grow up to become their race, they can’t retire from their race, and they most certainly don’t get a memorial service paid for by tax dollars when they’re murdered while being their race.
Before anyone gets any wrong ideas about me, I’m not advocating to kill cops. I’m not advocating to kill anyone. Ending the senseless murder of Black and brown folx shouldn’t come at the cost of anyone else’s life. Just stop killing, period. Yes, as human beings, all lives matter, but as I said before, they already did. They just didn’t realize it until people started protesting for Black lives.
As far as “a few bad apples,” as Chris Rock pointed out, some jobs you can’t have a few bad apples. “Bad apple… that’s a lovely name for murderer.[…] Some jobs can’t have bad apples. Some jobs, everybody gotta be good. Like pilots.” And he’s right - if we had “bad apples” who are pilots, I don’t think I’d ever risk flying again. Also, when you have bad apples, you throw them out. You don’t give them a paid vacation while you investigate for months (murderers don’t get to walk around free for months while they investigate, they get locked up immediately), you don’t grant them qualified immunity, and you certainly don’t purge their records on a regular basis. And for the love of rainbows, if you’re the president, don’t make up ridiculous conspiracy theories to defend police brutality.
Remember, the saying goes “A few bad apples spoil the bunch,” and y’all are absolutely rotten.
2nd Amendment/NRA folks - This is your time to shine and put your money where your mouth is. The cops are infringing upon Black people’s constitutional right to lawfully carry a gun. They murder Black people just because they think they have a gun! Isn’t the whole reason you even have guns to fight against the oppressive government? What if they killed one of your family members just because they were carrying a gun? It’s happening right now! Why aren’t you helping them? You’re suddenly siding with the very government that in any other situation you are so skeptical of? You don’t need a conspiracy for this one, it’s really happening. These people are really being murdered. It was caught on candid camera.
All of you people so quick to tell everyone you’re 1% Native American and the greatgreatgreatgreat grandchild of a “indian princess”… shouldn’t you be enraged over the missing and murdered indigenous women? Indigenous people are far more likely to be murdered by cops in border towns than any other minority. Don’t you care about your distant cousins? Don’t you care about how their ceremonies and customs, the ones you admire so much, were outlawed? Don’t you care about the native people in your grandparents, your parents or even your own generation that were taken by the authorities from their families and sent to boarding schools (here’s one that closed in 1980) where they were forbidden from speaking their own language, considering the US doesn’t even have an official national language (not that it would be right anyway)?
Although I ended up omitting so many other things I would have liked to include, things like the Tulsa massacre of 1921, Rosewood massacre in 1923, or the more recent MOVE bombing in Philadelphia in 1985, I hope I left you with enough that you have zero doubts about my stance.
For me, this is not a matter of parroting a trendy hashtag on the backs of protesters, or virtue signaling, or wokescolding? (I just learned that term.) These people are our neighbors, our dear friends, our family, our community. We cannot, on the one hand, boast about the melting pot that makes this country beautiful - the very thing that has attracted people from all over the globe to move here, while on the other supporting the very people who would like to destroy it. They desperately need our support, for all of us to come together and declare that yes, Black lives do matter. Let’s work together to make sure we can finally actualize the dream in which we may, someday, live in a post-racial society. We have a lot of work to do to get there.
And, well, if that wasn’t enough for you, here’s John Oliver talking about it (which I think he did quite well).
So what can you do to help?
Before I proceed, these are the things that I’ve learned by listening to people of color over the past several years. These are not my own ideas, but things I’d been told by numerous Black, Indigenous and people of color who were gracious enough with their time and emotional labor to explain these things to me. I am grateful to them for this, and I’m passing it on to you. Of course, no one person is a monolith. One Black person doesn’t speak for all Black people, just as I don’t speak for all white people. Try to listen and learn from a multitude of sources, and keep learning. It took hundreds of years to get us to where we are today, it took you as many years as you’re alive to get to where you are today, and unlearning these things is going to be a life-long process. I know I will still get it wrong at times. Acknowledge your mistakes without getting defensive, apologize (without any sort of dramatic displays of self-flagellation), learn from them, and move on. If someone points out something incorrect, don’t keep arguing. They know people are going to screw up as they’re learning, what’s frustrating is when they’re unwilling to listen.
Listen. Sit with them and listen to them. And when you listen, believe them. Believe their personal stories. Believe their experiences. Don’t be dismissive. Don’t say “oh well maybe they were having a bad day” or “maybe it had nothing to do with race,” because I can tell you they know the difference.
I think one of the best ways to learn about Black culture (any minority culture) and relate to the cause is to nurture cross-racial relationships. This is important not only for you, because this will help to wear down any biases you may have, and if you have children, they need to see what diversity looks like in adult friendships. They’re looking to you on how to interact with others. You are their model. You can push them into diverse groups as much as you like, but if all of mom’s or dad’s friends are white, they will notice that. They are the future generation, the ones who will carry the torch when they grow up, because I really don’t have hope that this will be fixed by then. I mean, I grew up in a time when they really started making an effort at encouraging diversity in peer groups, and things looked so hopeful - all it did was convince us white kids that things were fine, that we’re all friends, we’re all one race, and… yeah, now you have color blind people and “all lives matter.” Nurture those relationships in your children as well.
Learn to be a friend, not for the purpose of having a token friend that you can pull out of your pocket any time the topic of race comes up, but a true friend. Someone who is there long after the last fires from the riots have been put out. Someone who is there to be present in the day-to-day mundane aspects of life. Someone to talk about silly things and share interests and pictures of flowers or art, basically, treat them like you would any friend. Learn what is code switching and why they do it. Learn about AAVE, how it’s a rich, cultural dialect. When it comes to police brutality, don’t send them news links and go oh my god whyyyyyy - they know. Don’t ask them a million questions about race, that involves a lot of emotional labor on their part. That being said, if they offer to teach you because you’re a good friend (right?) and they care about you, absolutely take them up on the offer. Don’t ask them about their feelings on something racial that happened - if they want to talk to you about it, they’ll bring it up. It’s their choice whether or not they feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable about it with you. If they want to vent, if they want to cry, then be there for them! Listen. Believe. Say “I’m sorry.” Don’t ask them if something is racist - chances are if you have to ask, 9 times out of 10 it is. I didn’t mean for this part to come off patronizing - but to point out mistakes I’ve seen white people make on a regular basis. I’ve made some of them myself, and I felt horrible when I realized it. Don’t repeat those mistakes. This person probably said it better than I did.
If you are more aware of what’s going on, you’re white, and your white friend is coming to you to deal with their feelings, don’t do the SJW wokescolding thing and start tearing them down. It won’t earn you any brownie points with the minority community; it only comes off as performative. You are in a position in which you can teach others and guide them.
Never ever say “I’m not racist, but…” or “I support Black Lives Matter, but..” Really, just don’t follow anything along those words with a “but.” That’s like saying “I love you, but…” which always sucks being on the receiving end. Just don’t. Also, while we’re on the topic, never say a compliment followed by “… for a Black person” or “… for an indigenous person” or for any other person. Think for a second how it would feel to be told you’re pretty smart for a white person, just as an example. I mean, do people even think?
There are countless educators who do devote their time to teaching about these things. So many are willing to freely offer their time and energy to educate. A few request that you pay for it. If they request payment, pay them, because they’re taking time out of their day to teach you all the things your whitewashed social studies school curriculum didn’t. It’s not their responsibility to teach you. There are also plenty of Facebook groups (just search the words “talking to white people about white privilege” - and yeah, I’ll go into white privilege in a moment), which are free and will come with suggestions on actions you can take to help. One group I belonged to had regular posts holding everyone accountable - did you call your representatives? Did you read anything about racism? When shopping, were you mindful in your choices on whom you supported? I promise you will learn a lot from those groups, if you are willing to listen - just realize this is more like a class and not a random facebook community, so pay attention to their rules. You don’t mouth off at your teachers, right? They’re pretty strict (they have to be), and they don’t give a crap about your feelings. Speaking of feelings…
If you do need to work out your own feelings on racial issues, go to your white friends for that. Make sure you pick some friends who will be honest with you and not just confirm your biases. Your friends of color do not need to hear about it. And don’t post it on Facebook or other public forum either… trust me. At best, you’ll be ignored, at worst, you’ll get hit with a bunch of memes about white tears. A journal is better.
You’ll learn, that when you’re a friend, a true friend, how ugly and harmful tokenizing really is… that’s not how you treat friends or family. Think about what it would feel like to be used like that. There are plenty of people who get into relationships with people of color who still have a lot of internalized biases and racism that they may or may not even be aware of, who have a lot of unpacking left to do. When you get into discussions about race with others, learn how to have a discussion without having to lean on the shoulders of your minority friends. And if someone points out something you said is wrong, learn how to objectively look at that, how to say sorry, rather than immediately reply with a defensive “I’m not racist, I have a Black friend/brother/sister/child/parent/uncle/grandkids/etc” - you get the point.
Don’t try to take the lead. Follow. To be an ally, listen to what they suggest you can do, and follow their lead. They know better than you do what will cause them harm in the long run. Right now with the protests going on, there are so many white people out there trying to do things they think would help in solidarity, and all it’s doing is harming the cause. Yes, there absolutely are accelerationists, but there are also groups of people who think they’re allies doing things like defacing property, or handing things like rocks and bricks to Black kids and encouraging them to throw them, or smashing windows. Time and time again, Black protesters have asked them to stop, to think about what they’re doing, because they know that they will be blamed for it. This is privilege - when they have never had to think about how something might harm them because even when they do face consequences, they’re mild compared to what Black people face, simply because of the color of their skin. So don’t act on your own accord - if you really want to help the movement, follow their lead.
Speaking of following their lead, be an ally, not a savior.
These first steps are quiet. They don’t really require a lot of visible action on your part that you can (or should) show off on social media to prove that you’re doing the work. You don’t need to prove it to anyone. Whom are you doing this for? Why are you doing this? Is it because you truly care, or because you want to show to the world how racist you aren’t?
for those who are ready for more actionable work
Support the groups who are doing the work. Follow their lead. Black Lives Matter and Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women are two good places to start. They also have information on things you can do.
On a smaller scale, you can support the Black community as well as other people of color in their work in the communities which you follow. Read from Black authors. Purchase handmade goods from Black crafters. Support Black businesses. Pay attention to the racism that happens in our own fiber community (because there is no space that is immune from it, and the fiber community has definitely also been guilty of allowing it to go unchecked).
Do not be afraid to talk about racism in majority white spaces. This especially goes to the admins of groups. Yes, making a blanket statement disallowing those conversations will make your job easier, because these conversations never go as smoothly as we’d like. There are a lot of feelings involved when discussing human rights, for some reason. But as I mentioned before, silence is compliance. Shutting those conversations down does nothing more than silence minorities and make them feel unseen and unheard while allowing the white majority to continue their peaceful existence living in privilege. All it does is create a false sense of security as your group being a “white safe space.” Not making an official statement (and then not following up with consequences when people ignore your rules) only spares the feelings of the majority, not the minority.
Hold them accountable. Keep calling your representatives asking them what they’re doing to make positive changes. Ask them to demilitarize the police. When (not if) a cop murders another minority, call them and put the pressure on them. Just keep doing it. Be a thorn in their side.
One last one (disclaimer, I am not a lawyer, but the information is out there). Do not try to get out of jury duty. While the process of changing laws is a long and complicated one, you can help the defense against bad laws or prosecution through something called jury nullification. Yes, it’s a thing (and for the people who love to talk about the constitution and our founding fathers, they saw it as a very important thing). No, they won’t tell you about it - they have no obligation to tell you about it and will try to shut anyone up who does try to inform the jury of it. As a juror, you wield a lot of power in that specific case. There’s a way to do it though. Are you ready to perform your civic duties?
on the topic of white privilege: yes, it’s real even if you don’t believe in it
I see a lot of conversations about privilege pertaining to your place in life, where you started out, your “boost” - and yes, that’s one way that privilege works, but it’s not the only way, and this is where white people who technically would end up towards the back of this “walk of privilege” exercise get stuck. They wouldn’t be at the very back like someone in their situation who is a minority, but they certainly wouldn’t be up front with the trust fund kids either. And there are rich and middle class minority families (the “success stories” poor white folks frequently like to point to) who would be towards the front of the walk, possibly even passed those poor white families who stepped back a few times, with parents who sent them to private schools, who had overflowing bookshelves, who went to museums, and so on.
To me, white privilege also includes two other, very significant forms, and one of them we do have control over. There are four main types of privilege: your personal circumstances (including race, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, ability/disability), the situation you’re born into and/or your upbringing, the privilege of having the benefit of the doubt, and the privilege of ignorance. I’m going to discuss the latter two.
One form of white privilege is having the benefit of the doubt. A Black or Indigenous individual could have had the best possible upbringing, but they’ll still be treated as second class citizens by strangers or by the law. If you are a white stranger, most people are going to assume you have the best of intentions, and if something happens, there was clearly a reason, right? If it’s inexcusable, then that one white person was clearly a bad apple, something happened in their childhood, but that one white person’s actions only affect that one white person and doesn’t affect your opinion of all other white people. A white man appears to be safe, especially if you didn’t know that the majority of rapists (57%) are white. I don’t even have to tell women that number will be higher, because so many more never get charged/convicted. I did a quick check on the national sex offender registry within 3 miles of my home and tallied them up just based off appearance (because white privilege is based off initial first glance). There are 56 white men (one woman), and only 26 men of color (and one woman). That’s a bit higher than 57%. I live within a diverse community near a major metropolitan area - my own neighborhood, if you could call it that, is mostly white, but the areas around me are not. The white men look like someone in your family, your father, your uncle, your brother, maybe someone at church, someone in your community, the firehouse, the person you’ll wave to when walking your dog or invite to the block party… At first glance, they look harmless. At first glance, they’re not intimidating. If they were walking their dog five times a day just to walk past your home, you’d think it was maybe a little weird, but maybe they just like walking? Definitely not concerning enough to call the cops. You would give them the benefit of the doubt. And yet, they are convicted sex offenders. They go out in the public to pick up fast food, to go shopping, maybe even for a walk, drive to a local park, and nobody bats an eye. They benefit from white privilege. Meanwhile, a Black man who isn’t doing anything criminal will still be seen as intimidating or suspicious, especially if he’s wearing casual clothes or work out clothes while jogging, or will still get pulled over by the cops while driving the brand new super-expensive-luxury-car that he himself earned because “driving while Black.” He could get shot for wearing a hoodie. He could get into a dispute that has absolutely nothing to do with race, but then have the cops called on him because the white person feels “threatened” (regardless of whether or not they felt threatened, white people regularly use this tactic to exert power over Black people).
This racial benefit of the doubt helps us in so many different situations throughout our lives, we don’t even realize it. Nobody follows us in a store to make sure we aren’t stealing. We don’t have to worry about surviving interactions with police officers. A company is more likely to call us back for an interview. We don’t have to choose between a job or violating our right to privacy (this study shows employment of nonuser Black employees going up in industries that do drug tests… which you might think sounds like a good thing until you realize that it proves the implicit bias the “war on drugs” has created, but cleverly reframed as a positive - I already addressed drug use earlier. I consider this a violation of privacy, regardless of whether or not you use drugs. It’s simply none of their damn business. If you have the skills and the ability to do the job, and you don’t show up on the job under the influence, then they have no reason to suspect otherwise. We are not guilty until proven innocent. If someone is showing up under the influence, deal with it then. Are they giving people breathalyzer tests too? Because I’m pretty sure you can’t show up to work drunk either, and that doesn’t show up on drug tests. Moving on.) White privilege also comes into play when a child goes missing (read about the Rilya alert).
That being said, while we’re on the topic of drug use and drug testing, why aren’t we performing drug tests on our law enforcement? I mean, maybe there is a job where it should be everyone’s business, like one in which they are given permission to wield deadly force. After all, LEOs are at least twice as likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than the rest of the population.
The other form of white privilege I wanted to bring up is the privilege of ignorance. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, and this absolutely applies here. This is the one that I still get hit with on a regular basis, because I don’t know what I don’t know until I know it, and typically it’s what people refer to online when someone says “check your privilege.” While you have no control over your personal circumstances, your upbringing, or the perceptions of others, as long as you have the ability and access to educational resources (if you’re reading this, you do), if you have any hopes of actually living in a better world, and not just the delusion of living in one, you have the responsibility to educate yourself. Avoiding discussions of race because it makes you uncomfortable is the privilege of ignorance. Focusing only on certain blogs, groups, communities because you think you’ll be “safe” from these discussions, only to get upset and defensive when race is even mentioned (more on that in my next post) is the privilege of ignorance. Turning off the news because you don’t like hearing about all this police brutality and rioting is the privilege of ignorance. In fact, one account I follow (Brooke of Barefoot Five) recently came to this realization. Last week she made this post, where she wrote “Turn off the TV and love your neighbors. #fuckthenews” While most people commented in favor, a few did point out that this is not the message to be sending out right now, or people might get the wrong message (people with large platforms do need to be mindful and clear about the message they put out into the world). I saw a friend of hers reach out to her in the comments, not sure if it was later deleted, but the following day she posted this. I thought this was a beautiful example of someone learning and coming around. She didn’t understand, but she listened to her friend and learned, and corrected herself, and then she openly shared about that experience to teach others. That’s how you use your platform to do good.
There is an overwhelming number of books and podcasts and blogs and articles and courses that address these issues, to the point that it can be difficult to know where to start, but just start. Pick one and start. And, like I said, some things I’m not even aware of until I’m speaking to someone who is Black, Indigenous or a person of color and they bring it up with me, and I end up going down another rabbit hole of history. But hiding behind a wall of ignorance because these discussions are uncomfortable or negatively affect your mental health simply isn’t acceptable anymore (what about BIPOC who also have to deal with mental health issues, they don’t get to pretend it doesn’t exist). Imagine the PTSD of fearing for your life during your entire existence, of ever seeing or encountering an LEO. Obviously you need to take care of yourself, but be aware that Black people do not get that privilege of ignorance. Indigenous people do not get that privilege of ignorance. People of color do not get that privilege of ignorance. The only reason white people do, is because for most of them, nothing really horribly wrong ever happened to them. The worst they can come up with is some bullshit story about Irish slavery (indentured servitude isn’t slavery). And if your family history does know the effects of an oppressive government, then shame on you if you do not stand with the oppressed now. I bet those ancestors are rolling in their graves.
Someone pointing out that we have white privilege doesn’t make me or anyone else a bad person. There’s nothing wrong with being treated with respect as you are supposed to be treated. And maybe that’s the other reason why white people get defensive when it’s pointed out that they, too, benefit from white privilege. No, it’s not white hate, nobody hates you because you’re white, nobody’s telling you that you should feel guilty about being white. Guilt is for something you’ve done wrong (now, if someone points something out, and you continue to be willfully ignorant, then yeah, maybe you should feel some guilt for that). It’s merely done to point out that hey, there is a real disparity here. Nobody’s suggesting to take away your privilege and hand it to someone else. It’s not tit for tat. Nobody is saying “you shouldn’t be treated with respect because are not,” we are saying “minorities should be treated with the same respect granted to the white majority.” If you think that uplifting minorities will harm white people, congratulations, you just made the first step in admitting that yes, there really is a disparity between how whites are treated as opposed to minorities, and that white people are in fact treated better than minorities for reasons, thus making all of your other “racism was invented by and perpetuated by the media” arguments null and void.
Here is a really handy worksheet about where you stand on the ladder of privilege.
If after reading all of this, my own words have not been enough, or you are looking for additional resources, here is another list.
If you enjoy reading, here’s a nice selection for your summer reading list.
the next step: teach your children (& a few more resources for yourself)
The only way to make sure the cycle of abuse ends with us, is to first make sure we educate ourselves and do better, and then to make sure that we teach our children. This can be done by being mindful of raising them in a diverse-as-possible community, reading books with diverse characters, and focusing on “own voices” when learning about both history as well as current events. Teach them how to listen and learn from the experiences of others. Teach them how to examine a situation by placing themselves in someone else’s shoes and experience, to imagine what it might feel like to be on the receiving end of treatment. We are raising the future generations, and it’s likely to take several generations to really make progress. Because, to quote Ani Difranco, “we’ll never live long enough to undo everything they’ve done to you.”
Read Like A Rockstar - Naomi is a Black educator and mom that shares tons of resources on teaching/learning racism and not white-washed American history, both for adults and for kids. If you’re not on Instagram, here’s her links page.
Education With An Apron - LaNesha is a Black educator who has collaborated with Naomi (from the link above) to help create resources teaching true American history and helping families teach about racism, like this one. If you’re not on Instagram, here’s her links page.
Here We Read - Charnaie is a diversity expert who shares books and resources aimed at children that feature diverse characters, discuss American History from an ownvoices perspective or featuring diverse, notable historical figures, or address racism. Check out her other links here, and be sure to purchase any books you like that you see on her feed through her affiliate links. It won’t cost you any more, but she’ll earn a little income from having sourced and shared those resources with you.
Not Your Momma’s History - I absolutely love and have followed this account for some time (I can’t remember if it was Bernadette Banner who recommended it or someone else) - she is a Black public historian, performance artist, historical reenactor and abolitionist. I’ve learned quite a bit from her posts, and it’s just great to follow for understanding US history as well.
Michael Twitty - Speaking of history, this guy is absolutely amazing. He is another Black historical interpreter, but a chef! Well, as a historical interpreter his role is as an enslaved cook, but he did put out a cook book. (Note, if there’s an affiliate link attached to that, it’s his, not mine, I got it off his website) I first “met” Mr Twitty on the Townsends youtube channel, where they featured him in four videos that I saw. “Food of the Enslaved,” “Okra Soup,” “Kush” (the cornbread hash, not something else) and “Akara.” In this video he explains why he chose to do what he does.
Brenda Parker who plays Silla at Mt Vernon - she does not have a public profile that I could find, but this video is so important, I had to include it.
The Conscious Kid - organization that’s focused on creating resources for parenting and education through a critical race lens. Educational posts on racism, as well as a patreon link here. They’re currently crowdfunding to help BIPOC families with rent relief during Covid-19
We Need Diverse Books - this is a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting diversity in children’s literature. Here’s their links page with tons of resources.
The Intuitive Homeschooler - while this suggestion is less about teaching about racism and white privilege, this is definitely a Black homeschool mom worth following if you’re interested in a more unschooling approach, which some might refer to as “wildschooling”. She doesn’t call it that, and she explains why in this post. Not only does Camille Kirksey share her homeschooling journey on the intuitive homeschooler’s instagram account, she also offers homeschool mentoring services through Elevate With Intuition.
Treaty 8 Territory, Grand Prairie - This is an indigenous-led community blog based out of Treaty 8 Territory, a large area in northwestern Canada spanning across British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. While it’s not specific to homeschooling at all, there are a lot of great posts on here, some teaching activities like the story stones or an indigenous paper doll printable, there are personal family stories where we can read and learn about some of these community members’ family histories, as well as some posts on social justice issues.
Culturally Modified - This is another indigenous-run blog/journal based out of I believe British Columbia (Wetʼsuwetʼen territory). You can read more about the issues that are affecting their community. I absolutely love this quote from their website “As you read the words, listen to the stories and take in the images, we encourage you to just be present. To observe. To absorb. There is nothing to be done here, no judgement to be passed. There is just your witnessing. We’re glad you’re here.”
Native Child - from the website “It is our goal to help preserve and continue Navajo culture, language and history. Originally designed for Diné schools, preschools and institutions of higher education on and off the Navajo Reservation, we are now making our material available to all parents and students or anyone in general who is interested in Navajo culture.” There are plenty of wonderful resources in their shop (my fiber self is eyeing up that Navajo Churro DVD if I’m going to be perfectly honest), and as a parent and/or a homeschooler you may want to incorporate some of these resources into your own lesson plan.
One last resource for indigenous lessons: I am a huge fan of Joseph Bruchac’s books, and have several: Keepers of the Earth, Keepers of the Night and Keepers of the Animals. He also has authored several books with various indigenous stories, and he seems to be very mindful of which stores are allowed to be shared, and which ones are not. The Keepers books I mentioned have stories paired with educational activities that can easily be incorporated into your lesson plans. Each one has a different focus. Keepers of the Earth is about being environmentally conscious, Keepers of the Night has night time activities, learning about night creatures, and Keepers of the Animals has animal stories and lessons.
Teaching history in general: There is always going to be more than one side to history, and the only side taught in traditional schools is that from a colonial perspective (to the point that they will omit anything they consider too “sensitive” even though these things happened, thus painting the colonists in a more positive light hence the term “whitewashing”). Even using the term “discovered” when we talk about Columbus, as if this land was unpopulated by anyone other than uncivilized people (They were civilized. We need to rethink what “civilized” means if it only pertains to cultures with urban development, and where only human life matters - remember, many indigenous people practice animism, they had no intention of felling trees, which to them are living beings, for th) There is a real struggle to find an inclusive history, one that attempts to include the voices and perspectives of those who were invadedI am personally using Blossom & Root’s A River of Voices because it uses ownvoices books and resources, and it makes an honest effort at balancing out colonial American history with that of Black history, Indigenous history and Latinx history. Also, it is a secular curriculum, and we’re secular homeschoolers. There are several pathways you can take, gentle being for the youngest age group, standard for elementary, and advanced for older kids. So far, only Volume 1 is available which focuses on the time period from the early settlers all the way up through the American Revolution and the signing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I know she’s working on the next one which will follow Volume 1.
One author I highly recommend for the adults (though it’s definitely friendly for children’s ears) is Robin Wall Kimmerer, who is Potawatomi. Her books are nonfiction, a mix of personal allegories and her journey as an environmental scientist and professor, as she comes to terms with how to combine the animism of her spiritual upbringing with the seemingly cold unfeeling world of science. She’s written two books so far, Gathering Moss and Braiding Sweetgrass, the latter which has remained on my list of top favorite books ever since I first listened to it. You can get the print version or the audible version, which I highly recommend because she’s the one narrating her own book, and some stories just sound better when they’re told. In fact, I’m probably going to get the print version too so I can go back and highlight practically the entire book because it’s that amazing. It doesn’t deal specifically with racism (though she does mention here and there a few microaggressions that you might pick up on), but if you love plants and gardening and nature, I’d be willing to guarantee that you’ll love these books. I have yet to hear a single negative review from anyone, and everyone I’ve recommended it to either already read it and loved it, or read it after I recommended it, and are now equally obsessed.
One of the best websites/nonprofits out there that I know of to learn more about indigenous tribes and nations is Native Languages of the Americas. It is very unassuming at first glance, but a very rich resource that includes links to indigenous books, websites, stories and even teaches some of the words. I have spent a good deal of time on this site over the years while learning about the indigenous people whose land I live on (Lenni Lenape), and I still have barely scratched the surface. There is a lot.
To find out whose land you live on so you can pay your respects, check out this map.
Similar to the Native Languages link above is Orrin Lewis’s website. This one I think is geared more towards younger audiences which answers questions about specific tribes in a Q&A fashion.
There is so much information out there, it’s difficult to include it all here. Search hashtags on Instagram by including the words “Black” or “indigenous” or “BIPOC” in the hashtag itself. Some might come up with nothing, or very few posts, but others will have plenty. For example, #blackhomeschoolers will bring up Black homeschooler accounts. #blackfarmers will bring up Black farmers who have instagram accounts. One of the resources I included on this list I found through searching through #indigenoushomeschool
Similarly, I’ve found plenty of resources on youtube if you know what to search. Just be mindful of whether or not you are the target audience. Learn to stay in your lane.
Learn about the racism in your country, if you’re not based out of the US. Learn about racism in other countries if you’re here. It might help you to see it if you don’t feel like you’re defending your own country. This problem does not only exist in America. Canada has a long history of oppression, harm and even violence against the indigenous community (that school closed down the year before I started High School). Racism is an issue in the UK as well. Racism is an issue in Australia. It’s everywhere.
One last resource - Tim Wise is someone who, as a white male, has been using his privilege to travel the country teaching about racism and white privilege. He is aware that this “benefit of the doubt” I mentioned earlier grants him a certain level of credibility, in which he is more likely to reach a wider audience, although he explains that everything he’s learned has been thanks to BIPOC, and that they should be the ones standing up there and talking instead of him. He’s written books on the topic, and there’s a documentary titled “White Like Me” (after his book titled “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son”). Look him up on youtube and watch one of his lectures.
