**Original** 13 Steps To Confronting Racism From July 2016

13 STEPS TO CONFRONTING RACISM,

IN SUPPORT OF #BLACKLIVESMATTER

Step 1. Be willing to lean into discomfort.  Reading this is part of learning how to be supportive of folks that you most likely have not been taught to support, and the more you learn, the more you will come to realize and deeply understand why you haven’t been taught to support people of color, why you actively have to seek out information, and why racism happens even when you aren’t saying anything racist.

Step 2. Leaning into the discomfort, use that wonderful Unitarian brain and heart of yours and

get educated. Seek out information and media created by people of color, and listen actively to what they are saying: online, activists, books, forums, movies etc. There is a group of folks at BUF who are working on planning ongoing educational forums. However, information is easily accessible to those who are motivated to find it.

Step 3. Begin to overtly respect black lives by respecting the privacy, physical space, spirituality, culture, language, and lived experience of black people.

Examples:

Educate without expecting black people and people of color to teach you!

Do not touch someone’s body without asking.

Do not ask to touch their hair.

Do not use their culture (if you are unsure of what that is, look up cultural appropriation.

Do not respond to someones experience with a counter-argument LISTEN!

Don’t ask people of color where they’re from; “Where are you from?” implies that they don’t belong.

Step 4. Being a part of and supporting #BlackLivesMatter is a part of supporting good police practices. Those who are sworn to serve and protect should do just that. Please help us hold our officers accountable, and support systemic change so that officer training and police practices reflect the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Being pro-black lives does not make a person anti-police.

Step 5. Self-care is essential to learning new ideas and creating new systems. A rested and aware brain is a creative brain. Ask yourself: How are you feeling? Can you feel the paper in your hand? If your sitting, can you feel the furniture or floor supporting you? If standing, can you feel your feet on the floor? Confronting racism (internally and in community) takes the entire self. It takes the whole self. Are you able to feel your emotions and sense your body? Connecting to your own emotions and physical sensations creates a strong foundation for learning new ideas, new ways of connecting, and new ways of finding resources within.

Step 6. Some people respond to #BlackLivesMatter with the saying #AllLivesMatter. Of course, all lives matter. However, we need to acknowledge that black people have been consistently and specifically targeted and killed because of their race.  This movement is a response to that reality. When people say #AllLivesMatter, they are pushing the black experience aside and denying that our society literally makes decisions wherein black people’s lives do not count as much as white people’s lives. These decisions are still being made.   Additionally, white individuals do not get to re-name the movements that people of color are initiating.

Step 7. You might not think that you act overtly racist. However, racism is a systemic problem. Our country is built on a legacy of devaluing black life, which we unintentionally benefit from economically, socially, and politically. If you are white, a simple Google search for “white privilege,” will provide you with many resources. Consider the benefits you experience everyday because you’re white. If you are white carefully examine your own behavior and the behavior of those around you. How do you feel when you see a person of color? How do you act differently because of those feelings?

Step 8. Realize that the oppression of black people intersects with and overlaps with the oppression of other marginalized identities. MOVEMENTS FOR EQUALITY NEED NOT COMPETE. Additionally, recognizing that you have privilege because of your race does NOT negate your experience if you have been discriminated against in other ways (i.e. for your sexual orientation, gender identity, or socio-economic status).

Step 9. Racism is everyone’s problem; not a problem that people of color should be expected to solve. Racism is sustained by the behavior of white people and the institutions set up by white people, so racism will change primarily when white people’s behavior changes.

Step 10. Good intentions and saying “I’m sorry,” do not solve the problem. People of color are calling for white people to change, learn, speak the truth and take risks on their behalf. This includes being in uncomfortable situations, taking direct action, and giving our time and money.

Step 11. Mistakes will happen, they are essential to growing and learning. Learn from past mistakes and make a commitment to do better next time.

Step 12. Reverse Racism does not exist! Many people feel that when people of color have negative feelings toward white people, it is “reverse racism.” However, this denies the validity of black experience. In fact, people of color have many reasons to be angry and distrustful of white people.

Step 13. Many white people think the answer to racism is to see “everyone the same,” or be “color-blind.” This denies the unique experience of people of color. Please do not say you are color-blind. An ideal society is not a “melting pot” where everyone’s culture is mixed in, but rather a quilt where the individual identities shine brightly and true diversity is celebrated.

RESOURCES: www.joincampaignzero.org

             Support the #BlackLivesMatter movement at www.uua.org