Blog — Toward Justice

In this moment, we have an opportunity to follow the lead of Black Lives Matter, a movement that offers so much freedom for us all.

Black Lives Matter.
This is a political stance.
A stance to find new ways of understanding safety and community.

We are being called to reckon with the anti-blackness that is in ourselves, in our friends, in our institutions, in our policies. This deep reckoning, and wrestling is needed in order for us to be able to repair harm, heal and move toward wholeness.

The questions paralyzing so many people also haunt me. Am I enough? Am I doing enough? Who am I to claim space as a racial justice advocate when I’m on a journey? Yet, here I am. An imperfect specimen, putting forward a vision. Standing in a place of freedom, trust, love.

There is enough self-critique to go around the world and back.

When our stories of shame and guilt prevail, we are allowing the tools of white supremacy to dominate our minds and control our bodies. Whiteness has destroyed, pillaged and raped Black people for generations. Whiteness has also ripped out the soul and spirit of white people, replacing community with material comfort. Our brokenness harms us over and over and over again. It slowly erodes any sense of oneness. Of interconnectedness. Of humanity.

I am a social worker. A field full of white saviors. But Black and Brown people do not need saving. They need us to stop killing them. They need our systems to stop stealing lives. And saviorism is not going to save anyone. Even if we redirect it at the source of the harm; systems of white supremacy.

We need different tools.

This is one of many reasons leadership of Black and Brown people is so important right now. And why it is so important for those who are not Black to do the internal work - the ongoing unpacking and healing of the wounds that run so deep. We need to do this work because we need to be able to show up in a different way. We need to do this work to be able to imagine and live into a radically different world.

This is a moment in time when tides are shifting.

We all have much work to do. The road is long and the hill is steep. But we are standing together, following Black and Brown leadership in new ways. We are in motion. And there is an active and critical role for us all.

We are all on a journey and each of us sit in different locations.

For those of you who are white, please check out this great document that breaks down different anti-racist resources based on where you are on the journey. Explore where you are and find resources to support you in taking the next step.

For those of you who live in DC, thank Mayor Bowser for the public art and political statement made by covering the streets with a Black Lives Matter mural AND make sure she knows this is only the beginning. We need her to support Black Lives Matter DC’s demands to defund the police and address crime as a public health concern.

Black Lives Matter = Defund the Police

Put your voice and your power behind The People’s Demands. Read the People’s Demands. Digest them. Get curious about why the people are making these demands. Begin to imagine what life will be like when such demands are met.

Let the possibility of freedom flow through you.
Take Risk.
Be Vulnerable.
Be Bold.
Be Humble.
And follow a path that guides us to trust, love and freedom.

In November we held the first Rooting out Racism, a two-day immersive anti-racism training that is intentional, real and dynamic. This training is anchored in the transformative power of people who work in social service and advocacy organizations. Grounded in anti-racist praxis, arts, and culture, this training creates shared knowledge, a common framework, and embodied experiences that support the collective reimagining and reshaping of non-profits in the DC area.

We hold the belief that everyone who enters this training is a critical player in the dance of transformation. Participants felt their value and brought their full and vibrant selves.

We intentionally curated space, so that people who entered felt seen and drawn in. My old love of visual displays and felt-sense of a space came to life again. It mixed with Brittney’s brilliant artistic talent and Micaiah’s joyful spirit and together we designed the space.

We created the container for the training by reading Micky Scottbey-Jones poem, Invitation to Brave Space, reflecting on what we need to make this our brave space. “Amplifying the voices of those who fight to be heard elsewhere… Turn down the volume of the outside world… Calling each other to more truth and love.”

We start and end each day with poetry. We fill the room with art materials and toys for tinkering. Music is pumping through the space giving energy at poignant moments. We gather in circle, create art, and use movement, engaging our minds, bodies, emotions and imaginations.