“The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be an anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.” —Ijeoma Oluo
I have been pretty silent on here lately. I have been what I call “stuck.” Spending large chunks of my time watching and reading the news and feeling angry and frustrated. I become transfixed and freeze up. Yesterday, I made the decision to change my course of action. I was putting too much negative energy into the world and not enough positive. I listened to a fantastic podcast by Brene Brown with Ibram X. Kendi who wrote How to be an Antiracist which I found very helpful and enlightening. Have a listen if interested. Unlocking Us.
Today, I will do better.
My whole life, I have been very drawn and affected by any form of social injustice. Living in Canada, I have been very aware of the prejudice that exists for indiginous Canadians. I always gravitate towards books around any kind of “ism” that exists in our society. I acknowledge that as a white woman, this has been a “hobby” of mine, not a necessity. I don’t want to discuss too much about what has been going on around our world other than to say I feel an awakening is happening. I hope that this outlasts societies short attention span that we have from the short sound bites and tweets that we rely on. Racism is not my story to tell, but mine to correct in my own way.
I am adding a few links to things I have found useful in case anyone is looking for resources. If some of you have ones you have found, please feel free to share on this site. I would love to add to my own list.
Resources
- https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/the-history-of-immigration-and-racism-in-canada
- When They See Us
- How to be an Antiracist
- White Fragility
I watched Ellen yesterday and was inspired by what her guests talked about. She always says “Be kind to one another” at the end of her shows. She is going to change it to “Listen to one another.” I am going to focus on both. Listening and being kind while doing so.
Much love and understanding,
Christine
anundefinedlife.com 