This morning I was going to #RunWithMaud, but I was reminded that as a white person this action is just another example of white privilege: something I have the privilege of doing daily without fear. It's a hollow promise without real action to save lives like Ahmaud Arbery's.
In Indianapolis, my hometown, several police officers shot and killed Sean Reed, which was streamed on his Facebook, then cracked "jokes" over his dead body and focused on protecting their identities from the livestream rather than trying to save his life.
nytimes.com/2020/05/07/us/…
nytimes.com/2020/05/07/us/…
Black trans women Nina Pop (advocate.com/crime/2020/5/0…) and Monika Diamond (hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourn…) were both recently murdered because our nation is unwilling to address our collective transphobia and misogynoir.
While the racist violence isn’t new, it is still very painful during a pandemic that is also disproportionately affecting—and killing—Black and Brown people.
washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05…
washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05…
Even the "solutions" designed to encourage people to wear masks are penalizing and "stop and frisking" Black people. The police are not protecting and serving. Racism is everywhere and it's on white people to step up and end it. It's our problem to fix. nytimes.com/2020/05/07/nyr…
I still dedicated my run to Ahmaud, but it cannot come without action. Those of us who are white need to step up and speak out against the increased and unnecessary police presence, which is often designed to make us feel safe, but harms our colleagues of color.
We need to speak up more in medical spaces—address when racism is showing up among our colleagues, believe our patients and colleagues when they discuss the racism that they're experiencing. We need to have the tough conversations with the racist people in our lives.
It's on us to do this work. We cannot continue to sit idly by as our friends, family, and colleagues are terrorized by this anti-Black racism. We can also support organizations and efforts end the racist criminalization of communities of color.
Join me in signing @ColorOfChange's petition demanding justice for Ahmaud Arbery act.colorofchange.org/sign/demand-ju… and donating to @NationalBailOut to ensure mamas can be with their families this Mother's Day, not incarcerated and in fear of contracting COVID-19. secure.actblue.com/donate/bmbo-co…
One signature or donation won't bring anyone back, but I hope they can create some changes for a better tomorrow and remind us to take collective action to end white supremacy, transphobia, and anti-Black racism in our communities and systems.
