*not mine, but this message is so important

"I felt threatened" and "he resisted" and "she did not comply" and "he matched the description" and "I was afraid for my life" are modern-day code words that give white supremacy a secure, reliable foothold in this generation,

free of all accountability and justice. Racism is wildly adaptable.

Go ahead and use them, white people. We will be assured a safe place inside the justice system and plenty of sympathy for our white fragility. It will work for us. It will prioritize our racism over the lives

of black and brown bodies, their families, and their legacies.

From top to bottom, our whiteness will be protected. Our innocence, fear, and perception will be assumed as true and right. It will partner with the opposite assumption: black and brown bodies are to be feared,

suspected, and punished. This will remain true despite video evidence, audio evidence, eye-witness reports, clear data, and common sense. The system works exactly as it was designed to.

If we are not anti-racist, we are racist. There is no neutral when black lives continue to be

dispensable and disposable day after day. There is no neutral when we gently benefit from white supremacy without challenging its demonic, inherent evils. This is our work.

White friends, you are not just a bit player in the dismantling of white supremacy. When you call out

racism and demand justice, this matters. When you use your social media platforms to discuss what you are learning about implicit bias, it matters. When you point your friends and family members to leaders and authors of color, this matters. When you call evil evil, it matters.

You can handle dissent. You can handle it when your Aunt Mary says you are guilty of "reverse racism against whites" or whatever nonsense. You can handle their defensiveness and anger. You can.

What you cannot handle is sitting silently by as white supremacy learns how to adapt

without consequence in our generation, an unbroken chain of terror for centuries. Have a good answer when your great-grandchildren ask you what you did during the rampant abuse of black and brown bodies in our time.

Use your voice. Raise it with courage and conviction.