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With the horrible injustice done to Breonna Taylor and the death of RBG, I’ve talked to a lot of (white) friends whose spirits are struggling.
If you grew up inside a family and/or faith tradition that didn’t prepare you for social justice work, this thread’s for you.
If you grew up inside a family and/or faith tradition that didn’t prepare you for social justice work, this thread’s for you.
It’s vitally important to remember that odds are excellent you will never see the results of the work you do in your life.
For a lot of white ppl, even when you’re not looking for “ally cookies,” there’s a reasonable human part of you that is motivated bc you want to see CHANGE.
For a lot of white ppl, even when you’re not looking for “ally cookies,” there’s a reasonable human part of you that is motivated bc you want to see CHANGE.
And if you’re in this because you want to SEE Black liberation, the end of the carceral state, whatever your goal: realizing the enormity of your task will likely crush your will to continue.
Don’t do it because you want to SEE justice, do it because it’s THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
Don’t do it because you want to SEE justice, do it because it’s THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
If you and I live to see the world a better, safer, more just place than it is now, we will be very old. We may die without knowing if we made a difference. But we are building a world we won’t get to live in, for people we won’t meet, because it’s the right thing to do.
I mention faith traditions bc many teach this. The Jewish text Pirkei Avot famously states “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”
I heard many times from the pastor of the mostly Black church I grew up in that we’re planting seeds so our grandchildren can eat the fruit.
If you’re not from a justice-oriented tradition and/or grew up in a conservative family and you’re feeling crushed lately, I get it.
If you’re not from a justice-oriented tradition and/or grew up in a conservative family and you’re feeling crushed lately, I get it.
But it might be worth taking the time to ruthlessly interrogate what your actual goals are with your activism, make peace with the big picture, and recalibrate your work for the long haul.
It’s gonna take a while. And the future needs you now.
It’s gonna take a while. And the future needs you now.
