4 Real Steps You Can Take To Help The Revolution That's Happening Right Now
I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not slayers, but we’re in the middle of a fucking revolution and it doesn’t feel right for me to come on here and talk about business instead of addressing the massive elephant in the room - the shit that’s going on in our world that affects all of us, no matter our skin colors.
The truth is, lovebugs, I thought I was #woke and I’m not.
I am aware that my audience is mainly white women, and so I am addressing you specifically today. There is a very big chance that I’m going to fuck this up and say the wrong thing…but I’m not going to sit in silence and pretend this isn’t happening for any longer. In fact, I am echoing the concerns of many of you, this fear that you’ll speak up against this total injustice that’s going on and say the wrong thing. The fact is, most of us probably will say the wrong thing at some point - it’s an extremely complex situation. But that fear can’t hold us back and keep us blinded, keep us avoiding the elephant in the room, keep sisters and brothers of color feeling like they have no voice and no support from us.
I’ve always positioned myself as an activist and someone who strives for diversity and inclusion regardless of race because growing up where I did, living in communities that had a large representation of black people, having dated a black man, with many black friends - I had to learn about and address my privilege pretty fucking early on. That was actually my privilege. My ignorance was in not knowing that there are so many white women who didn’t enjoy the cultural diversity I did when I was younger - who didn’t grow up playing basketball, who didn’t have friends of color, who hadn’t had the experience of being ‘the only white person in the room’, who didn’t have any idea of the generational trauma and bullshit that these people have been dealing with for centuries. And so this is for you, if you have been blinded to all of this and feel overwhelmed because you don’t even know how to take a stand right now amidst everything that’s going on - if you were totally oblivious to these issues even being a thing.
So what can you do? How can you move through this and quit hiding behind your ignorance? How can you rectify the ignorance and lack of accountability so many white people have been living in for so long?
I’m so glad you asked…
Admitting your faults and your privilege
I’ve always taken a stance, but I’ve been a lazy activist and I want to say that I am sorry for that. It’s easy to become lazy and not speak up when you’re white. The fact is, I should have done more. I am sorry for that, and I am learning along with all of you. So what I’ve done is cute and it’s nice, but it’s not enough. And this is directed at those of you who are reading this and watching me start to take more of a stand, and wondering ‘well what the fuck do I do to help?’ and my answer to you is - Start.
Just start.
You’ve gotta deal with the lessons you didn’t learn as a kid because your parents didn’t teach you. You’ve gotta start addressing the beliefs you were brought up with about the system we live in - you have to start questioning things like police brutality when we were always taught that the police were the ‘good’ guys. We were taught these beliefs from the top down - it’s a systemic problem that we’re needing to dismantle. This isn’t about the police - we want cops to be heroes and the good guys again - but right now, the system is teaching them for things that they don’t need to be trained for which is creating a lot of hostility and terror in black and brown communities. White people don’t have to teach their children to fear police, expect brutality or wrongful persecution purely for their skin color. So start by looking at where you are privileged, recognizing where you are living in a totally different paradigm to those of color, and start educating yourself - and your kids - about what’s really happening.
Shut up and listen
Instead of talking, instead of making this about you - instead of making it about ‘all lives matter’ - it’s time to shut the fuck up and actually listen to POC. If a POC is speaking up on your platform, let them have a voice. If a POC is telling you how you can support them, listen. If a POC is sharing their experiences, hold space for them. And yes, listening can feel really fucking uncomfortable, but swallow your ego for one minute and realize this is NOT FUCKING ABOUT YOU.
I have listened and I have felt stupid, and felt wrong for being white, I have felt shame - I have cried ‘white tears’. And guess what, slayers - we all have to. We all have to face it at some point. And part of facing it is not only listening to what POC are saying, but not relying on them to unpack the situation for you.
Educate yourself
By listening you are able to see where you’ve been wrong, where you’ve been ignorant, where you are lacking in education. But that’s not enough. It doesn’t stop there. You need to actually be educating yourself on the situation and not relying on POC to do it for you!
And while I’m at it, not leaning on them for emotional support while you’re processing your grief on behalf of privileged white people everywhere. Frankly, they’ve got enough shit going on without having to take personal responsibility in educating and comforting us, too.
Like I said - this isn’t about you. Sit down, Charmaine.
There are so many resources out there for you to educate yourself, you need to be willing to do the research and learn about racial inequality yourself. In order to be an actual ally, you need to be aware of what you’re fighting for. Which brings me to -
Use your privilege to help
Getting on board with the ‘trending’ theme of putting a black box as your Instagram photo so your audience will think you’re #woke doesn’t fucking cut it. It’s a nice gesture, but if you really want to be an activist, if you really want to help, then it takes more than one post telling people you’re an ‘ally’ and then returning to talking about your launch every day to create a meaningful change.
A revolution cannot be won with 13% of the population (which is the ratio of POC). It takes a lot more of us taking a stand and speaking up.
Many of us are so fucking privileged to have voices, to have audiences and people who follow us and listen to what we’ve gotta say. Use this platform, use your influence and your pull to EDUCATE the large proportion of your followers, your people, who are privileged and white and who have NFI what’s going on. Integrate diversity training into your teams. Hire black women, women of color. Purchase programs from women of color and include what you’ve learnt about their perspective in your own programs (and I’m not talking about stealing their shit, BTW).
Summing up, slayers, it’s okay to feel shitty right now. It’s okay to feel shame and guilt around not knowing this was all unfolding in the background. It’s okay to not know what to say or how to help. But ignorance is not bliss. You have been warned, you have been informed, and now it’s up to you to take ownership of this situation and do what you can to right the wrongs you have made. Admit you’ve been wrong, admit that you’ve been ignorant, apologize, learn the fucking lessons and grow from this. Be better. Be that change you want to see in the world, now. Share this blog, tag someone that needs to hear this today. Educate yourself.
And stop waiting for someone else to fight the battle for you because it’s ‘not your battle’ and ‘not your problem’.
It’s all of our problems and responsibility. We need you.
We ALL have a part to play in this revolution. I’m doing my part… are you with me?
