Thread by @HeyChelseaTroy

I'm organizing an "Allyship for People with Racial Privilege" workshop for my neighborhood's mutual aid org. (I used to teach these with @surjchicago).

I'm posting my notes for folks to peruse. Please also follow/learn from black folks at the #BlackLivesMatter tag.

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First we are going to talk about is the immediate present: participating in protests. (I know there's other stuff to get into but that's top of mind right now and if I don't address it first people are going to be distracted until I do).

Here's how I show up to that:

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First of all, choosing protests:

I don't go to every gathering I hear about. I go when I know who organized it. I've seen their faces; I know their names. They usually have (or get) my phone # so they can text me where they need me/what they need during a protest.

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If it's not organized, by actual organizers, much higher chance it becomes a mob or gets infiltrated by people who show up expressly to cause problems and get organizers hurt.

So: know your organizers, and answer to them.

OK, what I do at protests:

1. I stand between the people with the mic/megaphone and anybody who would/might hurt them.

Occasionally, this is an agitated police officer. More often, it's some car that keeps trying to cross the protest.

By putting my body there, I keep the aggrieved protesters safer.

Why: I'm a white lady, and people know you get in trouble for hurting a white lady.

What you've seen on TV is lines of folks, arm in arm, blocking a police car. News crews eat that up because it's dramatic. In reality I'd say that happens like 1% of the time.

Thing 2 that I do: I distribute snacks and water. People get hungry and thirsty, and especially when they're walking in the summer, they can end up with exertion hyponatremia faster than they expect.

What I DO NOT do at protests: talk, chant, hold signs.

I'm not saying signs are bad. I PERSONALLY don't bring a sign because it makes it hard for me to check my texts/move quickly/notice agitation in my periphery.

I need to be able to do those things to most effectively answer to organizers and use my body as a deterrent.

Talking:

I am a white person. When the crowd is saying "whose streets? OUR STREETS," my white voice does not need to be part of that. These streets are ALREADY mine. I do not need to claim them.

Similarly, the news doesn't need to hear from me. My voice is not the silenced voice here.

There is ONE OTHER protest function I do, but I ONLY do it when I am NOT attending the protest.

I will do jail support. This is where I bring snacks, water, and chargers to the jail after a protest, when folks who got arrested are getting released.

Usually when folks get out of jail their phone is dead, they're hungry/thirsty, and they're in a strange neighborhood far from home. I can help with that.

Usually I'm jail support for SPECIFIC people, who give me their ID and/or phone BEFORE the protest to bring them at jail.

Clearly if I have these things it makes sense for me to not go to the protest to eliminate the chance that I ALSO get apprehended and cannot give them their stuff.

Arright, that's protests. Let's move on to some other stuff for folks with racial privilege to be aware of.

At this EXACT MOMENT, it is very current and sexy to be doing protests, and you want to go out there. That is great.

But where you are actually NEEDED is when this ISN'T happening, because we need to change the system that continues to make these protests necessary.

So what can you do? Of course, donate.

My picks have been @AssataDaughters, The Chicago Community Bond Fund, @byp100, and @ChiFreeSchool. I keep my $ local because I think more of them get used that way.

I'm sure you can find suggestions for your area on this site.

Let's get into some other stuff, though. This is gonna get a little gritty so I recommend you hang on tight.

As folks with racial privilege, we NEED to know what the function is of a police officer. I know that the badge says "protect and serve" and maybe your parents told you

that police officers are there to help you, and maybe even many officers joined the force wanting that.

But the institution of policing, historically, structurally, and institutionally, is not that.

The first police precincts in the U.S. did not start as police precincts...

They existed already in communities in the 1880s as slave subjugation posts, to protect the stuff of white property/land owners from uprisings of former slaves right as slavery was becoming nominally illegal in this country.

They just got converted, essentially.

And that's part of the reason that, despite the existence of good cops, the institution of police work continues to brutalize and subjugate especially black people.

B/c the whole institution was built to do that. Cops would have to fight literally their own system to change it.

Lemme give you an example from your life to help you understand this: recycling in Seattle vs. Chicago.

You can be the staunchest environmentalist in Chicago and you still won't recycle as much as the average Seattleite because our waste system does not account for recycling.

Similarly, the most high-minded police officer in the U.S. is working WITHIN a system that is DESIGNED to do thing that ISN'T what that officer wants.

Police precincts are typically staffed by officers NOT from the community they police. So community accountability is low.

They're regularly armed with multiple weapons, but not usually fully trained in the rules of engagement.

They're also frequently not trained in conflict de-escalation, mental health support, or medical support.

And then they're called to situations that require these skills.

So they get there, right? They don't know these people. They don't know how to make a tense situation LESS tense. If there's a mental health crisis going on, they don't understand it and can't predict what will happen. They can't do much in a health crisis.

They're thrust into situations that require all these tools they don't have.

The tools they DO have are, like, a baton, a taser, some cuffs, and a gun.

That's by design. That's the system that it is. Cops would have to go OUTSIDE that system to do better.

See how cops don't have to be a faceless hive of evil people for shit to go down when they answer these calls?

So here's the thing. We can't, you can't, change that whole system overnight. Believe it or not, A LOT of cops have been trying. Not all. But more than you think.

But also, a few haven't. There are absolutely deliberately racist, domestic abusing, white nationalist cops.

And we ALL have been steeped in a culture of white supremacy. That includes viewing white behavior as acceptable, and it ALSO includes a level of conflict aversion that

leaves us (and even cops) com-puh-LETELY unprepared to intervene when a deliberately racist, domestic abusing, white nationalist cop pulls some absolute bullshit on a call.

Is it wrong? YES IT'S WRONG. And individual shaming is warranted. But it won't solve the problem.

First it won't solve the problem because police unions are incredibly strong and wield immense political and financial power, and as a result cops mostly don't get held accountable. So there won't be punitive accountability.

Second it won't solve the problem because

even on the rare occasion that a cop shoots an unarmed person and gets jail, the system is still there, and it's still set up to do all the things it's set up to do, which is not what we want.

OK, that's big picture. So what can YOU do NOW?

What you can do is learn alternatives to calling the police.

When what is NEEDED is conflict deescalation, or mental health intervention, or medical skills, that's not what cops bring usually.

That's not what they're armed with. You need someone who is.

Options:

1. Get to know your neighbors.

I've said this before, but "I'm an introvert" doesn't cut it as an excuse as people are dying.

Find your local mutual aid org. If you're in Chicago, you have one. I'll help you. If you don't have one, put up some flyers and start a text group.

This group is for asking for help and giving help. Getting groceries for someone who is vulnerable to COVID and cannot go out. Telling people where to find things in the neighborhood. Showing up with cookies if someone is having a hard time.

Once you know people, SO MANY THINGS

suddenly do not require the cops.

Worried a neighbor needs a wellness check? Go over with some cookies and see how they are.

Don't get mad if they're rude; people aren't used to having strangers show up with food. But you accomplished the goal by determining they are OK.

Is someone making too much noise? Go over there and ask them to pipe down. They probably will.

Kids fighting in the neighborhood? Go outside and talk to them. You're a grown up; a lot of kids are scared of you. 9 times out of 10 they'll break it up when you walk outside.

OK, what about when the situation requires a skill you don't have?

There is PROBABLY a mental health intervention hotline in your area. There is PROBABLY a medical intervention hotline. Find them.

There MIGHT be mediation services. Even if there aren't...

A crisis counselor is a better person to call than the cops. A social worker. Hell, is there any kind of therapist living on the block?

They trained in their careers to handle this situation. They're a better choice. Call them.

So spend time figuring out what you would do in these various situations where your inclination right now would be to call 911.

Because a lot of times calling 911 is gonna make things worse, and some alternative has a shot at making things better.

Okay, what else can you do? Educating yourself on these matters is essential.

Remember earlier in the post when I said the thing about how white supremacy culture makes us avoid confrontation?

That's from a source: The 13 elements of white supremacy culture, by Tema Okun and Kenneth Jones. Here's the PDF

collectiveliberation.org/wp-content/upl…

This PDF helped me understand how "universal social mores" are actually "whiteness sold AS universal social mores." I SAW my whiteness in this piece.

Reasonable people will differ on where folks with racial privilege should start their self-education. My vote is for that piece.

I also highly recommend finding a group of other folks with racial privilege to go through readings WITH you, if you think that would work better for you than doing it alone.

Another thing I recommend doing this with is the book "Me and White Supremacy" by Layla F. Saad.

Finally I'll also recommend "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo. Also great and illustrative. I recommend the other two resources first because I want to start off with stuff that isn't by white people.

ALL RIGHT WHAT ELSE

So, changing institutions long-term. This is what we have to be working on in order to dismantle white supremacy and its role in a capitalist system specifically designed to generate the majority of returns for a select few at the top to the detriment of everyone else.

To do that, we return to those 13 elements of white supremacy culture. Where do you see those elements in the institutions where you belong/hold power?

How can you use your power to dismantle them? And how do we prioritize looking to BIPOC leadership to replace those elements?

This is something I am thinking about specifically for tech. Feel free to follow the series here, and PLEASE think about this with respect to whatever it is you do...space, tech, crossfit, et cetera.

chelseatroy.com/2020/02/21/per…

Also please remember that racially privileged folks are not to be the center of this conversation.

Eve talks in this thread about checking on your black friends right now and not centering yourself in that:

https://twitter.com/eveewing/status/1267618628909912064?s=20

Picture a bullseye, the center being how much racism directly impacts you. Comfort inward, seek support/advice outward.

This goes for managers too; check on your reports, but don't make them responsible for how YOU feel about whatall is going on. More:

chelseatroy.com/2017/11/19/ang…

I acknowledge the oddness of me saying that in a giant thread on Twitter where I am taking up space to talk about this.

These are my notes for a workshop I'm teaching, not an attempt to bill myself as the authority, feel free to stop reading if this doesn't help you.

I do want you to note something about the dismantling of the white supremacy culture in the institutions: that culture is hurting every single person in the institution.

Even the white people. Perfectionism makes it so we ALL can't grow from mistakes. So it is for all 13.

You literally need BIPOC in power to access alternatives. White people are clearly not qualified to advance alternatives to white supremacy culture.

The health of your institution DEPENDS on white leadership submitting to BIPOC leadership.

So make it a top priority.

As you work on institutional change in your companies, organizations, and hobby groups, you will inevitably run up against capitalist, white supremacist, and otherwise fundamentally limiting legal and structural hurdles.

Know that the most important races for changing legal and structural hurdles in your area happen at the city and state level.

So get informed about your alderfolk and city councilfolk, your state house and senate. Follow them on here. Write to them. Go to their town halls.

That's right, I'm not even at voting yet—you can pressure them, OUTSIDE of voting season, to do what you want.

You can join groups in your area that take notes at town halls and hearings, phone bank, write letters, or meet with local officials.

Chicago groups you can help include the Civilian Police Accountability Council, Chicago Votes, Show Up for Racial Justice, Never Again Action, and dozens of others.

You don't have to (and really shouldn't) go it alone. Plug into existing efforts that can help you be useful.

Then, of course, vote. Help other people in your community vote.

Are you good at reading and research? Write and distribute a voted guide for your community?

(Shoutout to @Stephanie_Skora and "Girl I Guess" in Chicago ❤️)

Now as you may have gathered, my understanding of/familiarity with ongoing activist efforts happens to be in Chicago, but THIS IS HAPPENING wherever you are.

You have the power and, frankly, the obligation, to effect change today, tomorrow, and every day.

Even when the current raft of protests dies down.

ESPECIALLY then, in fact.

Lol followers who are leaving because of this thread

Don't let the door smack ya in the ass on the way out