This past weekend was unlike like anything many of us had ever seen firsthand. On Thursday I watched on as protestors walked onto the I-25 highway and were quickly met with tear gas from the police. After that, the protests moved into downtown Denver and quickly escalated into riots. And this went on in all parts of the country. Days of protests, curfews, standoffs, and a social media revolution.
As well all know by now, this began after the death of George Floyd being murdered by a police officer. But it also had to do with the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery who was shot in the street, Breonna Taylor who was shot in her home, all the countless others that came before them, and Amy Cooper, a white woman who was caught on video telling a man she was going to call the police to tell them she was being attacked by an African American man. With social media, we are finally seeing firsthand what social injustice looks like and we are feeling physically ill from what we see on our screens. As soon as we think we have grown as a country and we have become more progressive, these images and videos tell us a completely different story.
Now I can’t act like I understand social injustice. I am a white woman, who grew up in a middle class family, and I have never had to worry about the color of my skin effecting my day-to-day. I have my own frustrations and my own struggles, but none of those have to do with the color of my skin. And because of this, I’m scared to speak out because I don’t want to say the wrong things or offend anyone with my lack of knowledge. But then staying silent feels just as damaging.
I’m not here to say that I understand what it’s like to be a Black American because I don’t. But I’m here to say what many others have shared on social media – I see you, I hear you, I mourn with you, and I will fight for you. And I’m going to start by sharing information on my small platform. If you’re like me and don’t know where to start or how to help or even how to educate yourself, I’m hoping this post helps. I’m no where close to an expert and please don’t expect that from me, but I’m hoping the experts I share in this post today help you in your own journey tomorrow. All we can do is better educate ourselves so we can better understand others, stand up for what is right, and create a better generation moving forward. Our world NEEDS to change and that can feel so scary and so overwhelming. But if we choose to start within ourselves first then share that knowledge with the people around us and the children who come after us, hopefully our world can begin to heal.
Now before I share different resources below, please remember this platform is not here for you to fight with others. I’ve seen that enough on social media and it makes people scared to learn and to grow. If you have hatred in your comment you leave behind, it will be erased. This post was not created for you to spread hate or put down others. This post was created in hopes of forging a better tomorrow. Now if you have helpful information such as social media platforms, books, links, etc. I would LOVE to share that with others.
CALL:
DA Mike Freeman to insist that the officers involved are held responsible: 612-348-5550
SIGN:
The Justice for George Floyd Petition
DONATE:
To the Floyd Family
To the Ahmaud Family
To the Minnesota Freedom Fund
FOLLOW:
WATCH:
Listen to this perspective about riots and looting by Trevor Noah at The Daily Show
What this video about privilege if you’ve ever questioned what that looked like
13th on Netflix
When They See Us on Netflix
EDUCATE:
To see a HUGE list of books, click here to see the image I re-shared yesterday
I’m currently listening to White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
Listen to these podcasts: Code Switch, About Race, Still Processing, Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
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Remember, the goal is to be better. Start with yourself by educating, understanding, and then taking action. No need to spread hate over the internet or social media to those who are still learning. Spread the knowledge you’ve gained to the people around you then pass it on to the younger generation. The more we hate others for their lack of knowledge (I’m talking about myself here), the more likely they will stay quiet instead of making a difference. I hope this post was helpful and I hope to hear from you guys with other websites and resources that are making a change right now! It’s time to become the change. We can do this together.
Thank you, I appreciate that you are not shying away from this topic – we can all help do our part by sharing knowledge and trying to bring light to the injustice happening around our country. This link also has a list of organizations to donate to: https://www.thecut.com/2020/05/george-floyd-protests-how-to-help-where-to-donate.html
thanks for the link natalie!
Big time follower of your blog! Something I think would be cool (and something that I’ve seen other food bloggers do) is promote other food blogs of people of color! There are a lot of opportunities to branch out within this platform so I’m excited to see what you’ll have next!
love that idea, meredith!! do you have any favorites? i plan to share that on instagram stories today!!
Be careful calling an uprising and protest a riot. Rioting invokes a sentiment of thugs and law breakers. People are calling for systemic change and while a few are making everyone look bad, many are peacefully protesting as police and government meet them with the very violence they are protesting against.
Nancy, with all due respect to you, in Denver like in other cities (Portland, OR for example where I live), there actually were riots. I get what you’re saying – there are less people being destructive & looting than peacefully protesting. But I don’t believe Juli was confusing protesting for rioting. Thanks 🙂
Thank you for using your platform to raise awareness. I appreciate you not shying away from this difficult topic.
Another book to check out: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
thanks for the recommendation!!
Thank you for this. I feel very similar to how you describe you’re feeling – angry, afraid to offend, and helpless but very willing to help & stand up to fight for racial injustice (non-violently!). It helps so much to be able to connect and DO something. My heart is breaking for our country, and for our African American brothers & sisters.
Good on you Juli! It’s awesome that you are doing something and sharing this! Silence is definitely not an option (and only serves to protect the oppressor, never the victims). Keep up this conversation as can help to make change! x
Thank you so much for posting this! I’m a Black woman, and I’ve been following your blog for at least 5 years now. It fills my heart with all the good feels that you’re speaking up on this, sharing resources, and acknowledging the need for allyship.
thank you for following along, Lex!! today i’ll be sharing different black women bloggers/influencers to follow on instagram instead of going the muted route. if you have any you’d like me to share, please let me know!! you can always send me a message on ig, too!
Juli, thanks for sharing this post. It’s helpful that you’re sharing advice and asking for help as well. One of my favorite follows on instagram is Myleik Teele @myleik. Myleik is probably the smartest, most focused, and determined woman I have found through instragram. She started the subscription curlbox and has a successful podcast. She’s offers great advice on careers, finance, building a business, etc. Also, Carmen from @makerealcents who had worked in finance for years and recently became debt free. I don’t have any food bloggers because I only really follow you!
Reason 2,395 why you’re my favorite blogger. There are great resources for us as adults out there! For those of you with children, here is a link with several age appropriate books to support conversations on race, racism, and resistance:
https://www.embracerace.org/resources/26-childrens-books-to-support-conversations-on-race-racism-resistance
Let’s lay the ground work for a stronger foundation as our next generation rises.
Thank you for sharing!
Hey Juli! I’ve been a follower for about 6 years now!
Thanks so much for sharing.
I feel like I’m in a similar boat to you. I’m white, grew up in upper middle class, and never really questioned my own privilege or saw discrimination. Until this weekend, my eyes weren’t really open to how our country affects black people negatively. I’m just starting to learn, and feel like I’m at a baby stage of this all! I’m so interested to see how you start sharing more about this and helping us all learn more!