Nothing like starting a Monday morning by dropping ten paragraphs & four links about police violence into your text thread with your stepmother at 7am because she expressed more disappointment at property damage than the extinguishing of Black lives, and that is not going to fly.

For anyone who is wondering, because you might be in similar predicaments with your family members of a certain generation, here are the links I shared. I will add to this thread if I think of more to share with her.

To start, this stunning Slate piece: #click=https://t.co/oGYQvHLAKs">https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/05/george-floyd-protests-police-violence.amp #click=https://t.co/oGYQvHLAKs">https://slate.com/news-and-...

Next, this (extremely trigger heavy) video compilation of the police being the aggressors in protests all over the country this week. https://twitter.com/whyadore/status/1266960236432130050">https://twitter.com/whyadore/...

Next, this comprehensive AF thread that addresses the idea that rioters are “destroying their own communities” without considering what those community conditions signify: https://twitter.com/trillharmonic/status/1266021538819645440">https://twitter.com/trillharm...

Lastly (for now), the Wikipedia page for the Tulsa Race Massacre, which occurred 99 years ago today. There are better, more in-depth sources out there, but the Wiki felt like a good jumping off point for someone who might have never heard about this:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuls...

In my ten paragraph message, I specifically drew attention to the fact that the police have been instigating/escalating violence across the country, that property can be replaced while Black lives cannot, and that ANTIFA is just a descriptor that literally means “anti fascist.”

I truly don’t know what to anticipate from her response. My stepmother, like so many white women, means well but is ultimately clueless due to decades of privilege and propaganda shaping her reality. I hope that she will at least engage me in peaceful conversation about this.

If she responds and I end up sharing additional information and/or resources, I will add to this thread.

And yes, this is uncomfortable. But white folks, educating our “less woke” white peers is *literally* the least we can do right now. Let’s get to work, yeah?