“[What should you do?] Educate Yourself!” Ava Duvernay, PBS Newshour Special, June 5, 2020

You don’t really need me to tell you this. It is everywhere these days. It being discussion of inequities, disparities, misunderstandings, being ignored, or glossed over. But white people really must educate themselves and begin acting. Our collective future depends on it, as well as our souls.

It will not be comfortable. I have worked, read, and tried to grow for years and yet I still feel dismayed, even dumb-founded at times, by my own ignorance. There is always so much more to grapple with. So, don’t quit just because it is uncomfortable. Pause…then return. Discomfort is good; it can lead to insight if you let it. Think about athletes—they know that hard exercise can result in physical pain but lead to stronger muscles and greater endurance. The same can apply to attitudes—if we sit comfortably inside our old attitudes without testing and challenging them, we don’t grow.

This is a sampling from about a week in the spring—ideas for reading and listening to the perspectives and emotions and needs of black Americans. The internet is our friend here; you can find these things and so much more, there. Look for curated or edited cites, not rant.

• Through Minnesota Public Radio, listen to the discussion moderated by Angela Davis on Friday, June 5. Also try the interview by Kerri Miller with Ibram Kendi, author of How to Be an Anti-Racist.
• NPR offers too many interviews and discussions to itemize. They also have great blogs, like Codeswitch.
• Check out the op-ed pages of the New York Times or other papers. Keep in mind: op = opinion. Opinions are important and can be very insightful.
  • “I Don’t Need ‘Love’ Texts from my Friends” by Chad Sanders on June 5 (nytimes.com/2020/06/05/opinion/whites-anti-blackness-protests.html)
  • “Call it what it is: Anti-Blackness: When black people are killed by the police, racism isn’t the right word” by kihana miraya ross (nytimes.com/2020/06/04/opinion/george-floyd-anti-blackness.html?action= click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article)
  • Opinion by Mitch Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans (nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/george-floyd-protest-racism.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article)
  • “Check in on your black employees, now: Between the pandemic and the killings of George Floyd and oth-ers, the mental health of black people is floundering” by Tonya Russell (nytimes.com/2020/06/02/opinion/police-killings-black-mental-health.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article)
• In the Star Tribune, three authors of color reflect on family, community, and need for change—Michael Kleber-Diggs, Junauda Petrus-Nasah, and Shannon Gibney on June 7.
• If you like to listen and watch, try TED talks (ted.com/talks), there are many good talks. For longer form journalism try The Atlantic. Look at your favorite news source and compare it to your least favorite.
• Want something direct from an athlete you may know? Look for Emmanuel Acho’s “An Uncomfortable Conversation with a Black Man” on Twitter. Clear, to the point.
• On Public Television, watch the special “Race Matters: America in Crisis” hosted by Judy Woodruff. The public television website has lots of other resources, too (pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-race-matters-america-in-crisis-a-pbs-newshour-special).
• Review the LWVMN June 8 “All member News” June 2020 Item #2 Get educated for more resources.
• Thinking about finances? Read the essay by the black President of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, Raphael Bostic (frbatlanta.org/about/feature/2020/06/12/bostic-a-moral-and-economic-imperative-to-end-racism).
• If you can tolerate crude language, don’t miss Last Week Tonight with John Oliver from June 7.

Read, watch, think, and yes, squirm, along with me, but then look for your place in the societal overhaul needed. On the one hand, the problems sound so overwhelmingly large as to freeze our ability to act. On the other hand, the immensity of the problem also means that every contribution to change and improvement is needed and needed now.

Two quotes I saw or heard this week particularly stuck with me. In an image from the George Floyd Memorial in Minneapolis, “This is our collective PTSD.” And a woman protesting in Ohio defending the public outrage sometimes turning violent ,“YOU broke the social contract!”

We have an opportunity. Don’t let it slip away. Throw open the curtains and look through as many windows as you can and SEE.