The Starting Point for Hope…Truth

This post departs from my norm of NOT writing about the BAD STUFF.  It is purposeful.  Even in the overwhelmingly heartbreaking situation of Racism in the United States of America, I am choosing to find HOPE.  To be true to my ideal that HOPE isn’t a feeble-minded escape from despair, I must acknowledge the truth. 

The truth is that I have immense privilege as a White American.  What follows is an illustrative list of examples of White Privilege.  It is borrowed from a friend’s Facebook post.  PLEASE READ THIS PAINFUL LIST.  IT IS IMPORTANT.  As White Americans, we MUST acknowledge our privilege. 

“I have privilege as a White Person because I can do all of these things without thinking twice:
I can go birding (#ChristianCooper)
I can go jogging (#AmaudArbery)
I can relax in the comfort of my own home (#BothemSean and #AtatianaJefferson)
I can ask for help after being in a car crash (#JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride)
I can have a cellphone (#StephonClark)
I can leave a party to get to safety (#JordanEdwards)
I can play loud music (#JordanDavis)
I can sell CDs (#AltonSterling)
I can sleep (#AiyanaJones)
I can walk from the corner store (#MikeBrown)
I can play cops and robbers (#TamirRice)
I can go to church (#Charleston9)
I can walk home with Skittles (#TrayvonMartin)
I can hold a hair brush while leaving my own bachelor party (#SeanBell)
I can party on New Years (#OscarGrant)
I can get a normal traffic ticket (#SandraBland)
I can lawfully carry a weapon (#PhilandoCastile)
I can break down on a public road with car problems (#CoreyJones)
I can shop at Walmart (#JohnCrawford)
I can have a disabled vehicle (#TerrenceCrutcher)
I can read a book in my own car (#KeithScott)

I can be a 10yr old walking with my grandfather (#CliffordGlover)
I can decorate for a party (#ClaudeReese)
I can ask a cop a question (#RandyEvans)
I can cash a check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood)
I can take out my wallet (#AmadouDiallo)
I can run (#WalterScott)
I can breathe (#EricGarner)
I can live (#FreddieGray)
I CAN BE ARRESTED WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING MURDERED (#GeorgeFloyd)
White privilege is real. Take a minute to consider a Black person’s experience today.
#BlackLivesMatter”

Acknowledging the truth, we have a long, long road to walk to end Racism.  Now, on to the HOPE part.  Remember, Hope = Optimism + Action.  And Action is both Being and Doing.  On the Being side, I’m learning that it’s not enough to NOT BE a Racist.  If we choose to take this cause on, and I Do, we have to BE an Anti-Racist.  I’m starting to learn what that means.  And then there’s the DOING.  I have plenty to learn there too.  Learning and Listening may be the first part of DOING something.  Then, we use our VOICES.

This week, to learn more, I listened to two Black friends talk about their experiences of Racism. Experiences that continue up until this day.  One friend described regularly being followed around her normal grocery store by a clerk – out of concern for her shoplifting.  She also talked about the fear she feels EVERY time her husband leaves the house, fear that he may not return.  Another friend described it being routine to be stopped by random strangers and called hateful names, including the Word That Must Not Be Named. 

On a call the other day with women grieving the tragedy of Racism together, I listened to Black Women say they are EXHAUSTED, both physically and emotionally.  I heard one woman say, “I have no emotion left.  I have no HOPE left.  I’ve hoped too many times and been disappointed.”  Among the things I’ve read so far, the consensus seems to be that the Black Community has done everything they can do.  Now, for change to actually happen, WHITES MUST SPEAK OUT.        

I spent much of the last few days calling Senators, not just in my home state, but across the country.  I’ve been expressing my horror that Modern-Day Lynchings are taking place on the streets of America, committed both by Police and Vigilantes, in the year 2020.  I’ve been demanding a national agenda of ending racial injustice. 

And, I’ve been expressing my grave concern about the very threat of deploying the US Military AGAINST US Citizens exercising their First Amendment Rights on American Soil, in the wake of a relentless stream of racially motivated murders of Black Americans.

Did I make a difference with these calls?  I don’t know.  One was to Senator Murkowski’s (Alaska – R) office the day before she spoke out endorsing the comments of Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who rebuked the President for being divisive and threatening to use military force against Americans.  I’ll never know whether I actually influenced Senator Murkowski, but I sure feel better for trying. 

Are my actions enough?  No, not nearly.  Are they a start?  Yes, and that gives me HOPE.  My friends in HOPE, how are you DOING and BEING to make America a place where ALL have the chance of living the American Dream?

With Love and Hope

Colleen