Black Lives Matter.

I acknowledge that I’m a privileged white woman who was born in a racist country, taught in public schools with racist curriculum, raised on racist TV shows, cared for by doctors in a racist medical system, and let off with so many “warnings” by racist cops when I forget to turn my headlights on after dark.

And yes, I’ve been ignorant of pretty much all of that until very recently due to *MY OWN FAILURE* to educate myself. There’s a wealth of anti-racist reading lists out there, and I just…didn’t bother before. What a sorry excuse.

I’m not here to virtue signal, but I acknowledge that I’ve done an awful job in using my voice on this particular platform to amplify this movement.

Listen to and lift up Black voices. Seriously, fellow white folks, shut up and listen to the people experiencing systemic racism. Let’s be okay with getting very uncomfortable, and with being told we f*ed up. I can easily look at myself and spot the myriad, both subtle and obvious, ways that I have played along with the white supremacist ideals that my country was founded on – I need to do better. We need to do better.

Protest. Including providing support to demonstrators through medical care, food, water, transportation.

Educate yourself. Don’t demand that the oppressed take responsibility for teaching you. Do the work.

Call out the racist bullsh*t you hear every day.

Petition your lawmakers. And VOTE.

Donate. If for some reason you find yourself hesitant to financially back the organizations on the front lines today, then donate to local infrastructure that serves your fellow community members most targeted by systemic racism – food banks, women’s shelters, mental health support networks.