I’ve been feeling deep sadness for the senseless murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. We are far from an equitable society when Black people face micro-aggressions at work, voter suppression, police violence, redlining, economic and health disparities, ... every day. It's been centuries of injustice, oppression, and suffering.

We must do the work to dismantle the system of racism and oppression in our lifetime. 

As a White German-American, who mostly grew up in a homogenous small town in Germany, I've been holding the following big questions: 

• How have I been complicit in upholding and benefiting from the current system of racism and oppression?

• How does racism live inside of me? What are my biases and blind spots? 

• How have my upbringing and cultural context shaped my racial identity? 

• What have I learned along the way? Who have been my biggest guides and teachers?

• What's mine to do in dismantling the system of racism and oppression? 

I'm committed to continue to do the inner and outer work now and for the rest of my life. I'm committed to learning and unlearning. I'm committed to listening and having hard conversations. 

This work is messy. It can be uncomfortable. I know I make mistakes and won't get it perfect. It requires daily practice. 

I've been inspired by the work of many people and organizations across the US who are centering racial justice and sharing power in how they work and co-create. They are modeling a path forward. They help me see that it's possible to build, work, and live in a way worth passing on to future generations. 

Everyone one of us is needed. Every action matters.

Let's make a commitment to this work for the long haul. Let's take care of ourselves and each other along the way. Let's do it as a practice that sustains and evolves over time. 

I'm offering a few resources for learning and taking action below.

With love and solidarity,

Sarah-Marie  

Resources

[READING, LISTENING & WATCHING] 

• [Podcast] Unlocking Us: Brené Brown with Ibram X.Kendi, author of How to Be An Anti-Racist

• [Podcast] On Being: Krista Tippett with
  Resmaa Menakem, “Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence" 

• [Video] Trevor Noah's George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper | The Daily Social Distancing Show

• [Essay] The Untold by Ruth King, an excerpt from her excellent book Mindful of Race

• [Podcast & Essays] The 1619 Podcast and The 1619 Project by The New York Times 

• [Book] Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

• [Book] White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

• [Book] The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander 

• [Book] Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation by Rev. angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens, and Jasmine Syedullah 

[TOOLS]

• [Design Framework] Creative Reaction Lab's Equity-Centered Community Design Framework 

• [Design Framework] Equity Design Collaborative's equityXdesign guide 

• [Book] So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• [Guided Practice] Race and Healing: A Body Practice by therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem via On Being

[TAKING ACTION] 

• Have conversations with friends, family, and colleagues.

• Examine and (re)design your organizational culture and processes with equity and inclusion in mind. 

• Black Lives Matter - Ways You Can Help 

• Campaign Zero - #8CANTWAIT

• Color of Change - Campaigns 

• Take Action with the ACLU. 

• Donate to NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. 

• Donate - ActBlue has a page set up that splits a donation between 70+ community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers.

• Support Black-Owned Businesses.

• Write directly to your local legislators. You can find who your legislators are here. 

• Vote!