White people, it’s time to stand up for what’s right. Use your privilege for the betterment of society.
It’s hard to put together a running focused post for today. It would be completely tone deaf and frankly impossible for me to write. So I’m going to depart from that and speak to something much more important.
It seems like ever since March of this year, it’s been extremely hard to focus on anything but current events. Every blog post that I’ve written has been a struggle. Between coronavirus, running events being canceled, death and destruction — it’s just all so heavy.
And today unfortunately isn’t any easier. So here goes.
Privilege
I’m a white woman living with privilege that I did not ask for. But I recognize that I have it and I recognize I need to use it for good. I need to leave this world a better place than I received it. I need to leave it better for my children, for my athletes, and for my friends.
I distinctly recall several times last track season when my young black male athletes would come to practice and tell me how excited they were that they got their drivers license. Or that they had big events planned with their friends for the weekend. And you know what I always said to them?
Be careful.
I said “be careful” not because they were children with a brand new drivers license. I was saying it to them because they were black in America.
Let that sink in.
These are high school kids. That I had to say be careful to. Because I’m terrified for their lives. That is a sad, harsh reality.
But I saw (and see) what happens to black people and I desperately want to keep “my” kids safe. MY kids have amazing qualities about them. They’re not only tremendous athletes but amazing people. MY kids are caring friends and funny individuals. MY kids have their whole lives ahead of them. And my biggest fear is that their lives will be cut short.
That’s a horrifying prospect for a coach. I can’t imagine being their mother.
This has to end and it has to end NOW.
Black lives matter. Full stop.
I am only one white person out of a sea of many. But because I’m white, I have privilege and I will use it. I’m already a card-carrying member of the ACLU but that’s not enough. I may not be able to go to protests and join the boots on the ground, but that doesn’t mean I should do nothing.
Instead, I’ll be participating in discussions, donating, listening, learning. And muting myself. I want to be the best ally I can and that starts with letting people of color speak and be heard.
Below is a non-exhaustive list I’ll be using to start; I hope you’ll join me.
Privilege
White people, it’s time to stand up for what’s right. If you have feelings of helplessness, do something. Donate, raise awareness. Protest. Use your privilege.
But most importantly, it doesn’t matter what color you are — VOTE. Change starts at the local and state levels. Make your voice heard.
We MUST do better.
Black lives matter. Full stop.
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14 Comments
Thank you for a great post, albeit a tough one to write. It was primary election day in Iowa (and several other states) yesterday, and I heard there was record turnout, so that’s a small positive to come out of recent events. <3
I heard that as well, which I think is fantastic. We can all do better and voting is one of many steps!
Tough times for sure. It’s hard for me too put into words how I’m feeling right now. As a white woman, I just don’t know what to say or do. All the gestures, like blacking out social media, feels so superficial. The true test will be how we change attitudes and behaviors. This behavior is so ingrained within our culture–it’s going to take a long time and a lot of work. We have to persist!
I found the black out to be unifying and impactful. But I can definitely see how it could be viewed as superficial. We definitely, definitely have so much to work on. And it will likely take generations. But we have to start somewhere.
I’m with you on how hard it has been to focus on anything but all that is going on right now. Thanks for the list, it gives me a start on what I can do.
It’s impossible to focus on anything. And it should be impossible because this shouldn’t be acceptable.
Thank you for such an important post Rachel. And for the list of resources.
I agree with your message. Although blogs are a platform, I made the decision when managing a large online forum, years ago, during an election, to not talk about politics online. Although this isn’t really politics, of course.
I still wonder to how to change things. It took a pandemic to stop school shootings. Let that sink in!
I do know that the only way evil occurs is if good people do nothing, but knowing what to do — what will really elicit change — it’s so hard to know the right thing to do. I do love that people have been able to protest in the last couple of days without turning to looting & violence, which solves nothing.
All lives matter. All voices matter. How do we truly become color blind? It think of the old Star Trek episode, where there were two colors: black on one side, white on the other – – and then black on the OTHER side, white on the other. And they had almost completely killed each other off because of it.
<3
Thank you for sharing these resources. It's so important to move for change. I don't have the words right now. There's just a weight pressing on my chest and I can't make it stop.
I’m struggling to put together words about this but of course it’s been on my mind nonstop. I have had a really hard time focusing these past few days. I wrote my post last Friday, otherwise I dont think I would have been able to write about running. I’m trying to start by reading, listening, and learning. I know there is more to do but I feel like I still have so much to learn.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think it’s important that everyone works together to stop all forms of racism, bigotry and antisemitism that has gone on in some form for centuries.
Yup. This exactly.
Being in a country with a different history, culture and social setting, I only read about this in the news (and it’s not even in the headlines, either). Thanks for sharing your personal perspective, it helps me to understand the problem better.
The US has been turned upside down. Rightfully so and long overdue. A lot of heartache for many, many people.