It’s on us.We must change.Our ability to listen, speak up & confront ourselves &others. Our accountability.They’re counting on us- Black lives, Hispanic lives, Asian lives...We have to change on a large scale, &it will take everyone. #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter #TimeToSpeakUp

How do we do that? My thoughts aren’t new or original. I can only share what I’ve learned from the brilliant minds I’ve spoken with and read. I’ve yet to hear it all, and I’m ready to hear more. But I know this: 2/?

Each day we encounter events, rules or systems demonstrating how societal/institutional racism embeds itself into every part of us- we participate in it, and/or are affected by it. So much so, that too many of us become blind, or were never self-reflective enough to see it. 3/?

Bias, whether environmental or learned, implicit or explicit, becomes so deeply ingrained that instinct to protect ourselves kicks in when we are told about it. So, again ...what can we do, other than feel hopeless, angry and frustrated? What must we model and teach? 4/?

1. We must be proactive. Silence is injustice. Silence is choosing the wrong side. Silence will catch up to us. 5/?

2. We have to listen to others’ perspectives. Looking outside our own egocentric life is key. We have to know that our experience is not everyone’s experience. And choosing to deny others’ experience is selfish and ignorant. (White Privilege is real). 6/?

3. To deny a race problem, (or any aspect of someone’s identity) and insist that recognizing the issue is actually creating a divide... is choosing to be ignorant. You can’t turn off the color of your skin, gender, religion, sexual preference,etc in certain situations. 7/?

3 (cont) It all intertwines and affects actions, events, thoughts, hidden biases and more like a complex and nuanced falling domino path. One can’t even breathe without all these identities mattering. 8/?

3 (cont) And until we can acknowledge, question, &change the negative reactions to each aspect of who someone is... it does matter. A call for color blindness negates nuanced perspectives, and complex issues that make each person who they are. 9/?

3 (cont) Don’t say you don’t see skin color or not to “bring race into it”- that invalidates who they are and their unique experiences. You can’t stop seeing differing identities because you decide that’s how you’re going to show your “lack of racism”. Because it’s not. 11/?

4. We must not be defensive. It’s natural to be wrong. It’s not okay to STAY wrong. I’m going to keep saying this because we NEED humility and admit when we are wrong to enact change. (Anyone remember Stage Theory?) 11/?

4(cont)Being defensive is natural,but we must fight our instinct to defend ourselves when we are confronted about our wrongness.Accept that being wrong only teaches what’s right. You take that lesson &fix it. If someone tells me I was wrong, I listen, think, examine &change. 12/?

As cliche as this sounds- this is a hard, uphill battle against accepted societal norms. We won’t be able to flip a switch and know what to say. But it’s a battle worth fighting. Every name, face, hashtag and nameless persons who suffered needlessly deserves more from us. 13/?

6. Confront. Hold yourself accountable. Did you really just say that? Think that? Do that? What did I really mean by that? Is that truly something I should laugh at or am I making someone uncomfortable? 14/?

7. Confront. Hold others accountable. Your police friends. And no- you can’t say, my ___ would never do that. You’re not there. You don’t know what hidden bias comes out in the heat of the moment. Ask them if they stop their partners, if they speak up in the field? 15/?

7 (cont) Make sure the police know that their own friends and family expect them to be accountable and morally/ethically in the right. You want to support the police? Hold them accountable. 16/?

8. Confront. Hold others accountable. Your friends. Your family. Your employers, coworkers, peers. Ask them what they mean by what they said/did. You hear or see something, then say something. No one is immune. 17/?

9. Teach the next generation to be different. We can’t just talk to our little black boys/girls about what happens TO them. We must teach our white children that it’s happening. How they can change it and, in turn, hold themselves and others accountable. 18/?

10. Despite mine/others’ fervent desire to get justice for every Black, every Hispanic, every Asian and every Native body...it doesn’t end there. Yes.Justice is needed. But it’s much more than we think. Criminal charges/accountability for these attacks are just the start. 19/?

10 (cont) But we can’t stop there. The hashtag may fade to the next one, because it sadly won’t stop in one day. We can’t forget, and we have to work on it every day, every moment. 20/?

There are a million different voices, articles, books and discourse about all this from those who say it so much more eloquently than me. 21/?

Want to read them? Let me know and I’ll direct you to some amazing titles (not surprising that they’re are by men and women of color - we have to LISTEN and LEARN from them, and then CHANGE. #SoYouWantToTalkAboutRace #Thick #AGoodTimeForTruth #BetweenTheWorldAndMe 22/?

If you can’t tell who “we” is or who “us” and “our” is... if you don’t know who I’m talking to, then maybe it’s you. I know it’s me. What can you find humility with, and do? 23/?

Today,I want my classroom.I want to hear my students’ perspective, their discussion-to put more books, more critical thought in their hands-For them to challenge each other.I want them to see that their anger can be productive &valid.That they are the key to change#WokeWednesday

17. (Copied)
They can’t breathe with a knee on their neck( #GeorgeFloyd)

They can’t go jogging( #AmaudArbery)

They can’t relax in their own homes ( #BothemSean and #AtatianaJefferson)

They can't ask for help after being in a car crash( #JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride)
26/?

They can't have a cellphone ( #StephonClark).

They can't leave a party to get to safety ( #JordanEdwards).

They can't play loud music ( #JordanDavis).

They can’t sell CD's ( #AltonSterling).

They can’t sleep( #AiyanaJones)

They can’t walk from the corner store( #MikeBrown).

26/?

They can’t play cops and robbers ( #TamirRice).

They can’t go to church ( #Charleston9).

They can’t walk home with Skittles ( #TrayvonMartin).

They can’t hold a hair brush while leaving their own bachelor party ( #SeanBell).

They can’t party on New Years ( #OscarGrant).

27/?

They can’t get a normal traffic ticket ( #SandraBland).

They can’t lawfully carry a weapon ( #PhilandoCastile).

They can't break down on a public road with car problems ( #CoreyJones).

They can’t shop at Walmart ( #JohnCrawford) .

28/?

They can’t read a book in their own car ( #KeithScott).

They can’t be a 10yr old walking with their grandfather ( #CliffordGlover).

They can’t decorate for a party ( #ClaudeReese).

They can’t ask a cop a question ( #RandyEvans).

29/?

They can’t cash their check in peace ( #YvonneSmallwood).

They can’t take out their wallet ( #AmadouDiallo).

They can’t run ( #WalterScott).

They can’t breathe ( #EricGarner).

They can’t live ( #FreddieGray).

And so many more unnamed.

30/?