Blog

6/6/20

Black Lives Matter. Period.

Some thoughts on the last few weeks. I’ll make the writing short and the recommendations long as my thoughts aren’t needed here; we need to listen to the voices of people of color. 

Trauma needs a witness, and I witness first with my feelings. 1. Horrified, enraged, despairing, sad, grieving. About the murder of black and brown bodies, recently including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and far too many more. About Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper (no relation) in Central Park. 2. Tentatively hopeful, and amazed, watching the peaceful protests spread throughout the world. 3. And then outraged and angry and yes, terrified about both the police brutality and violence out of the White House. As a human and as a mental health professional, it makes me sick. 

Not one of us will truly experience genuine mental wellness until our beloved sisters and brothers of color are valued, heard, and fully recognized as human.

Join me to #amplifymelanatedvoices. The day is long past for white people to de-center ourselves in the conversation about racism and start centering the voices of diverse people of color. And we must start taking responsibility for our own learning rather than asking people of color to educate us. 

Here are some of the people I learn from, in no particular order, and some curated resources below. Please join me and learn to be more educated, anti-racist and empathic.  

• Ibram X. Kendi https://www.ibramxkendi.com/
• Author, books: Stamped From The Beginning, How To Be An Anti-Racist
• I follow him on
• IG @ibramxk
• Twitter @DrIbram

• Layla Saad  http://laylafsaad.com/
• Book, Me & White Supremacy
• Host, Good Ancestor Podcast
• I follow her on IG @laylafsaad

• Rachel Cargle https://www.rachelcargle.com/
• Course: The Great Unlearn
• IG @rachel.cargle
• Twitter @RachelCargle
• The Loveland Foundation https://thelovelandfoundation.org/ From the website: “Black women and girls deserve access to healing, and that healing will impact generations. (Founded by Rachel Cargle, this organization provides financial assistance for therapy for communities of color with specific attention to black women and girls. You can donate to the fund for providing healing through therapy to people of color.)

• Franchesca Ramsey, https://www.franchesca.net/
• MTV Decoded host, you can see all her videos here: https://www.youtube.com/user/chescaleigh
• IG @chescaleigh

• Luvvie Ajayi Jones https://www.awesomelyluvvie.com/
• Book, I’m Judging You: The Do Better Manual
• Culture critic, activist, blogger extraordinaire.
• IG @luvvie

• Patrisse Cullors-Brignac 
• Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter
• IG @osopepatrisse
• Author with co-founder asha bandele of When They Call You a Terrorist

• Ta-Nehisi Coates https://ta-nehisicoates.com/
• Atlantic Magazine national correspondent and author, books: Between The World and Me, We Were 8 Years In Power, The Water Dancer
• IG @tanehisipcoates
• Twitter @taNehisiCoates8

• Audre Lorde
• Poet, author
• Intersectional thinker, self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” who dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, and homophobia.
• Book, Sister Outsider

• A Detailed List of Anti-Racism Resources

https://medium.com/wake-up-call/a-detailed-list-of-anti-racism-resources-a34b259a3eea?utm_content=bufferf0e95&utm_medium=Thrive&utm_source=LinkedIn&utm_campaign=Buffer

• 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice

https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

This is hardly an exhaustive list. We are rich with teachers, and need only to look to find them. By all means, suggest others! 

Thank you for the courage and vulnerability it takes to look at racism and work to become anti-racist. Let’s keep listening deeply and making space for — and amplifying — voices of color. We’re all in this together. 

Lisa