Cities are burning across the United States. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other Black people, anger and sadness are boiling over. People of all races are demanding change. Protesters are taking to the streets. Individuals are wondering what they can do.
As the smoke was clearing yesterday in Washington, DC and in cities across the country, a friend asked me, “What can I as one White person do to change systemic racism?”
It is an ambitious question, a question that moves beyond “calling out” individual racist words and acts. It is a question that does not simply seek how not to be part of the problem, but instead how to play an active role in dismantling racist structures and systems--the very structures and systems upon which this nation has been built. It seeks to unpack hundreds of years of racist history and to right the wrongs of the past and the present.
It is a question that is important for all people of all races to ask. We all have a role to play in dismantling structural racism. As Dolores Huerta reminds us, “Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
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I want to acknowledge that, in this moment, not everyone is ready to act. Some are in no mood to hear folks jump to tips and action steps, but instead find it critical to take time to sit in the pain, sit in the sadness, sit in the anger. For them, the time for action will come. This is a time for grief. Others long for a place to put their energy, their anger, their feelings of helplessness.
When you are ready, regardless of your race, regardless of where you live--big city or small town, north, south, east, or west--and regardless of whether you have long been committed to antiracist work or you are taking your first tentative steps, here are six concrete things you can do:
1. Use your spheres of influence
As the environmental movement has long said, “Think globally, act locally.” The same is true with antiracism work. A critical first step for activists (and soon-to-be activists) is to examine and thoughtfully consider how to use all of your spheres of influence for change. In other words, map your power. It is helpful to use paper and pencil so you can see it with your own eyes. When we examine our social and professional circles, we begin to see how much influence we actually have--among family, friends, colleagues, neighborhoods, faith communities, political involvement, and social media.
Let us be clear: it is not enough to post a couple of links on social media, then pat ourselves on the back for being “woke.” It is not enough to black out our profile picture and assume we have done our part.
We must instead commit in an ongoing way to speak out, engage in dialogue, and use whatever platforms, positions, and power we have to advance racial equity. At work, even if you are not in a position of formal authority, you can question what your organization is doing to address structural racism. At mosque, synagogue, or church, you can spearhead conversation and action so that your faith community becomes part of the solution. You can post to neighborhood discussion boards. You can call your elected officials. You can write letters to your local paper. And yes, you can post antiracist messages to social media to amplify the cause and lift up the voices of Black people.
Most of us have more power than we realize, and certainly more power than we typically use on any given day. Let’s start using it.
2. Join a group
The work of racial justice has been around for hundreds of years. The organizations leading the way are well established. The good news is that you don’t have to figure out what work to do. Join an organization that is already doing the work. In the days following George Zimmerman’s 2014 acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin, #BlackLivesMatter was founded. Many communities already have BLM chapters. Join one. If your community does not have a chapter, band together with others in your community to start a chapter.
Or join the Poor People’s Campaign, A National Call for Moral Revival, a movement spearheaded by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and others to pick up the baton of Dr. King’s 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. As Rev. Barber says, “We have to shock this nation with the power of love...We have to shock this nation and fight for justice for all.” Find out if your state is involved, and attend the Campaign’s digital March on Washington on June 20.
If you want to get more involved in advancing Latino rights, check out Unidos US (formerly National Council of La Raza) and join their Action Network. If you want to get more involved in Native American rights, get involved with and learn from the Native Organizers Alliance, the Native American Rights Fund, and the National Congress of American Indians.
Whatever you do, know that you are not alone in this work, and that power comes from solidarity. Power comes from numbers.
3. Take to the streets
In cities around the world, people are marching in the streets to protest police violence against Black people in the United States. The ranks of those marching grows each day, and while some protests have been marred by looting, the vast majority are focused, peaceful, and effective. In the midst of a pandemic and public health guidance to wear masks and keep social distance, this is a complicated issue. For some, the safest and best thing they can do is stay home to guard their own health and care for their loved ones. For others, taking to the streets is the only option. Yes, the pandemic is a life and death issue, but so is ongoing racist violence and the relentless killing of Black people.
People should search their own consciences to determine the right course of action for themselves during this complex convergence of life and death issues.
Whether you take to the streets in protest or protest from home, do it boldly. And do it safely. We are all in this together, and we all need to survive another day.
4. Donate to antiracist causes
Today’s powerful uprising against racism comes at a time when many are suffering not just from the public health crisis of COVID-19, but also from its economic fallout. People of color, especially Native Americans, Black Americans, and Latino/a people have been hit hardest by the pandemic. They have lost lives, loved ones, jobs, and homes. As eviction moratoria expire week by week, people of color face homelessness at rates not seen since the Great Depression. Not everyone has disposable income to donate to causes, especially now.
But if you do…
And many of you do, particularly those of you who have been working secure jobs from the safety of your own homes. If you have the means, now is the time to donate to antiracist organizations. Specifically, Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University works boldly “to examine racial problems anew, innovate and broadcast practical policy solutions, and work with policymakers to implement them.” Support their work.
In Montgomery, where Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) have worked tirelessly for decades to advocate justice for people wrongfully accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit, there continues to be much work to do. Yesterday, Etsy’s CEO announced a $500,000 donation to EJI. That is a great start, but half a million dollars will not solve 400 years of racism and oppression. Give to EJI.
5. Vote
Vote.
Vote in every local election.
Vote in every state election.
Vote in every national election.
Tell everyone you know to vote.
If you don’t yet believe that elections have consequences...
6. Prepare for a long fight
The work of antiracism is long. We run one leg of the race, taking the baton from those who ran before us and passing it to those who come with new energy and fresh legs. In order to sustain ourselves for our portion of the race, action is not enough. We must continue to read, think, watch, listen, and meditate. We must daily examine how we are complicit in and impacted by systemic racism. We must continue building our own networks--expansive and diverse and full of people who don’t look like us.
Can any single one of us end systemic racism? Of course not. But can each one of us play a part in tearing it down. We must.
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In her decades of social activism, Dorothy Day faced one uphill battle after another, one seemingly hopeless cause after another. Yet she continued finding the strength to act, even in the face of those who questioned why. “People say, what is the sense of our small effort?” Day wrote. “They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”
Does achieving an end to systemic racism seem like too big a job? Do you have moments of feeling helpless or hopeless? Remember that every step matters. Every word matters. Every antiracist thought or action adds a thread to the tapestry of justice we must weave together.