I don’t feel that I have any great insights that are not already being shared by people way smarter than me. But as I have heard in many forums: “silence is complicity” and I want my name to publicly be next to the simple statement that black lives matter. While the horrible and preventable deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in recents weeks has brought this to everyone’s minds I can’t forget the deaths in recent years of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, or the hundreds and thousands of human beings who just happen to have a different skin color than me that have been killed by racism since our country’s founding. All of their lives mattered and were cut short by a system that valued their lives less than they would mine. Racism is and has been present in the United States since it founding.
I am a straight, cisgender, wealthy, white, male, software engineer in my mid 40s; I am a living example of privilege in our society. Have I done enough to help end racism in my community? In my country? I don’t really know what enough is, but I am sure the answer is no. I do some. I will continue to do more.
All I ask is that, if you can, do something to help fix this. Maybe it is going to a march. Maybe it is giving money to a worthwhile organization. Maybe it is just saying publicly what you believe. Whatever you do, please vote. Change needs to be driven by all of us, but our choice of leadership will help.
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Nowhere close to exhaustive list of resources:
- Obama Foundation - Anguish and Action
- Food52 - Black Lives Matter. These Organizations Need Our Support.
- 11 Things You Can Do to Help Black Lives Matter End Police Violence
- 10 Books About Race To Read Instead Of Asking A Person Of Color To Explain Things To You
- 24 Podcasts That Confront Racism in America