There are so many injustices and tragedies going on in the world today:
Police Brutality and Misconduct
Islamophobia
Xenophobia
Homophobia
Murder
Harassment
Hate
I assume that there are many privileged persons standing by watching and wondering, "What can I do?" As an ally here's what you can do instead of being silently uncomfortable and willfully blind to these circumstances:
Check in with your black, brown, Muslim, and LGBTQ friends. With everything that has hurt individuals who are members within these communities recently, it would be nice for your friends to know that you genuinely care and are concerned. Take sometime to simply listen and allow them express their hurt and vent. Do not try to "white-splain" or say what "coulda," "woulda," or "shoulda" been done to prevent the incidents on behalf of the victim(s). Do not make the situation all about you. Do not say things like "All Lives Matter," "We are all humans," "We are all one." These statements may be well-meaning, however, they dismiss the unique troublesome experiences members of these communities endure in society. You cannot fathom the type of pain and loss that is being felt time and time again, but you can be there to help. Your genuine empathy can serve a bright light in what currently is a very dark hell.
Call out ignorance and foolishness in your spaces. These spaces include within your family, friends, social groups, and professional spaces. The latter is perhaps the most important place because it is within the structure of systematic, power-yielding racism.
For example:
If you're a teacher and you see a colleague treating a student unfairly: Call it out.
If you work in HR and you see there are no qualified candidates within these groups being interviewed or hired: Call it out.
If you work in the media and you see that the higher-ups want to spin a story in a deceitful way that may hurt members of these groups: Call it out.
If you are in the health field a and colleague provides poor quality care to certain patients: Call it out.
If you see an associate purposely deny a family housing or a business loan without any appropriate reasons for the denial: Call it out.
If you see a person being harassed or threatened: Call it out.
If you are a police officer, and you consider yourself to be what has been coined a "good cop," and you see that your partner has no valid reason for stopping someone, is being especially harsh and provoking, or is using excessive force: Call it out.
If you are guilty of doing any of these things: Call yourself out and change.
By intervening in these situations in any field, you could potentially save a life.
Your white presence is white privilege. If you are truly tired of seeing these events play out, and they make you uncomfortable, do your part by shifting the dynamics so these injustices don't have to continuously occur. If you're sick of hearing and reading about them, imagine how weary members of these communities are from living them as their reality. No one needs you, as an individual, to apologize on behalf of your race and ancestors. What we need is for you to help us move forward by recognizing that you have the power to effectively be apart of the change that we all wish to see. Stop feeling helplessly sorry and uncomfortable and be apart of the collective effort for change. Your active allegiance, not silent passivity, is needed.
