Being an anti-racist

Hey, guys, I hope you're all keeping well, with the loosened lockdown and all the chaos and planning that comes with that (does anyone else feel claustrophobic when going into spaces with lot's of people? Just me? Okay...) and with the conversation of racial equality being brought with full force after the acts of police brutality in the United States, it's probably made all of us think of how race affects or doesn't affect us in our lives. To be honest, I've been pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised by the reactions of the people closest to me during this time. Pleasantly, how we were given the opportunity to be vulnerable about our experiences with racism and how those who hadn't experienced racism were so eager to understand and educate themselves. Some unpleasant t experiences have been from those who I wrongly assumed would feel the same way about the murders of unarmed black men and women as I did. I quickly saw that that wasn' t the case and they didn't see the racial issues behind those events and the general structure of the United States as a country. And I admit that racism is a problem everywhere in the world, but let's be honest it's ingrained in the foundations of America and there are black people who lead successful lives and carers and live in neighborhoods where they may be less likely to get shot but sometimes it's an everyday thing rather than some blatant attack. The toning down of personalities, dealing with micro-aggressions, code-switching, and feeling like you have to work twice as hard to get anywhere. This where being an ally comes in. Someone who realizes that the worst thing in the world is not be called a racist but to sit by and let racist attitudes and actions slide. It's standing up when it doesn't affect you directly, for any marginalized group or person.

I 've got a (short) list of novels on police brutality written by black authors if you're interested.

1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

2. Tyler Johnson was Here by Jay Coles

3. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kelly

That's it for now. Hope you talk to you all soon.

Precious.