Juneteenth

Today is Juneteenth. What’s it all about, and what can we do to honour the day for the Black community?

10 Things We Want White People to Do to Celebrate Juneteenth

1. We want white people to deeply consider the wound of racism on the hearts of every Black American.
2. On Juneteenth we want white people to read, study Black history, Black poets, Black leaders, Black achievements.
3. We want white people to do things about racism as readily as they do things for their own children.
4. We want white people to make a list of resolutions, of promises, of vows about what will it take for them to use their power, their privilege, their platforms of power to give space to Black and Brown leaders.
5. We want them to find an accountability partner and make the list public of what actions they will take. They CAN do this on social media. A lot of those actions will be giving up privilege and making room for folks who they may not have noticed have no room at all.
6. We want white people to stop talking about how uncomfortable it is to talk about racism or police violence.
7. We want white people to stop being afraid of their own internalized white supremacy. I want them to search and look within at hard facts of thought and deed. Who cares about being comfortable? What about being true, brave and real instead?
8. Then we want white people to stop talking and listen to what needs to be done.
9. We want white people to plan on spending time in spaces with folks who are not like you.
10. We want white people to hold other white people accountable not on social media, instead with measured voices that call folks in to look and wrestle – to change. We are interested in courageous conversations, in hearing folks out and in allowing themselves to feel terrible and to let that feeling be a crucible for change.