Black Lives Matter
I’ve been meaning to write a post on my values for months. I could just never get the words to flow. I started writing this post on Monday, stayed silent for #BlackOutTuesday, our team had a conversation about our values and how to examine ourselves on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday, and again on Thursday. Now it’s Friday and I’ve finally put the finishing touches on this post. I’m sure there are flaws, but I don’t want to be silent.
This past week has been challenging for so many reasons. It hurts my heart to know so many people are in pain and there are those who could help to ease that pain who don’t want to or won’t listen. Here’s what I know: I love what I do, I love my city, and I hope that our country can heal and grow. I still have to spend time looking inward to grapple, learn, and unlearn. It’s going to be a process. In the short-term, here’s what I am committing to do:
I’ve highlighted Black and minority owned businesses on my blog and social media posts, but never highlighted that it was an intentional action on my part. I’ll be doing more of that.
Taking advantage of the resources available to me to talk about race. This one is newly published by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Improve my own efforts to be actively anti-racist. I’m reading White Fragility with a group as a first step. The goal is for that to lay the groundwork for additional steps.
The Best Address Group is donating $250.00 to BEAM to support their mission of prioritizing emotional and mental health and well-being of black and marginalized communities as a first step.
I know it’s not perfect, but this is my renewed commitment. Hopefully, I’ll be afforded grace and forgiveness when I mess up and be able to share what I’ve learned with others.
