Antiracism for White Folks

In the process of diving deeper into typical colonizer practices as played out in professional circles, I now direct you to Black women authors and teachers and their offers on the path to free yourself.

Get yourself a copy of Me and White Supremacy and do the questions, don't just read them. Share with an accountability partner. Bestselling Author Layla F. Saad is your go to on unpacking all the stuff white folks haven't recognized yet that still drive harm. Especially anyone claiming to be an activist or ally-get in there and clean your house. Get her book and get to work.She also wrote Good Ancestor.

Also check out the work of Christabel Mintah-Galloway. I recently listened to one of her live videos about an incident of white theft, entitlement and more regarding her work. She inspired me. Go get her Relational Skills Workbook or toolkit, and listen to her podcast Rich, Queer Aunties.

Amanda Seales is another you can level up your accountability with,  shifting into critical thinking skills and find like-minded community with her book group featuring author interaction and more. Just $5 a month is more than worth it. She also wrote What Would The Ancestors Say which you can find her doing performances of on a few recordings of her book tour.



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      "I was suprised to think of myself as one of the good white people and then learn all the ways that racism hides and bubbles out of me. Others in the group study of Me and White Supremacy are finding the same thing, "I'm not racist" our automatic common belief until we consider all the self examining questions from the Black authored books we steeped ourselves in. Considering the questions, sitting with them, journalling about them and then discussing them, opens up our bubble even from ourselves.

   "Before this work I have interrupted Black women because I thought my thoughts or input might get left behind and I just couldn't imagine just being quiet. 
White Centering is super common. 

"I had many interactions with Black friends and coworkers not considering that race is ever a consideration, a factor in anything between us. I hadn't thought yet that I could have been mindful about leveraging white privilege for good. The things I did do felt like enough, that it was just a fact that I was not racist.

   "This work has taught me that I cannot separate myself out from being white and all the baggage with it. Being antiracist isnt just a label, it has to be intentional effort every day to educate myself, to seek out ways to repair the harm of antiblackness, and lack of equity in our systems, to pry open the hidden bias, and to show others how to do the same. 

​   "My new label is work-in-progress, always trying to do better. It is unsettlling which makes more sense than the white bubble I was in even when in the company of BIPOC."     Shannon Batts (your Relationship Gardener!)