George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Philando Castle, Kendrick Johnson, Samuel Dubose, Sandra Bland, Walter Scott, Terrence Crutcher, Freddie Gray, Ahmaud Aubrey, Christian Cooper, Bothem Sean, Atatiana Jefferson, Johnathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride, Jordan Davis, Aiyana Jones, Alton Sterling and so many more…
One of the offerings this Pandemic has given me is the time to take a long walk almost every morning. Sometimes I walk in silence, sometimes I plug in to find some inspiration, or to tune out. The other day I was plugged in and heard Scott Simon use the phrase ‘Lethal Injustice” He was referring to the brutal murdering of George Floyd and other black men at the hands of police. I immediately unplugged and let those powerful words melt into and swirl around my consciousness. As I walked I realized Lethal Injustice is not only a term that describes murderous hate crimes, but it is also the language that perfectly describes the slow, systematic destruction of lives of color from the time of birth until an, all too often, untimely death. Lethal Injustice describes the cement and the girders that are the foundation and the supports for every aspect of our society; including our systems and institutions of healthcare, justice, economy, public works, banking, housing… absolutely every arm of our society leans up against these lethal girders and is supported by a cracked and unjust foundation. Our institutional systems are guarded by a grim-reaper who is not color blind and is ruthless to black people, indigenous people, and people of color.
It’s with this conviction that I have found myself diving way in to explore how I, personally, can contribute to eroding our broken and inherently biased systems that are designed to allow white people to thrive while, at the same time, killing and causing suffering in people and communities of color. It’s through a highly uncomfortable, personal internal investigation that I have committed to kneeling for 2 minutes each day in solidarity, in action, and with outrage at our current systems. This commitment to action is accompanied by daily internal work as well as uncomfortable external work, such as writing these difficult words. I can only trust & hope that if we all do our own vulnerable and amazingly difficult work both internally and externally, that we, as a collective community (far beyond the scope of the Blue Banyan community) will help create much needed, large scale, systemic anti-racist reform in this country.
I encourage you to dive deep and see what might come up for you, perhaps it’s kneeling with me and my neighbors Perhaps you are drawn to something else. If you are looking for strategies I recommend reading Eleonora Bartoli’s “An Open Letter to White People”, its a 10 minute read with easily accessible language, compassion for the paralysis you might be feeling and tips to move you into your own power.
Be well, be safe. With LOVE,
Sophie
Announcements for the Week of June 8th
Kneel for 2 minutes at 2 PM every day with Sophie
Against institutionalized racism and in support of our communities of color. Request a virtual link HERE and of course, it’s not all or nothing if you can’t show up each day. you show up with is when you can . Read More