I don’t really have words right now… or at least, they’re all muddled together and not making much sense as I swim through a million feelings. Quite honestly, I’m tired of thinking and writing. Right now, doing feels right. Here are some resources I’ve found useful, insightful and inspiring to actually do something, anything . We can do better .
More thoughts from James Baldwin that speak just as loud today as they did then .
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James Baldwin // "I left this country for one reason only, one reason. I didn’t care where I went…I ended up on the streets of Paris with $40 in my pocket on the theory that nothing worse could happen to me there than what had already happened to me here. You talk about making it as a writer by yourself, you had to be able then to turn off all the antenna with which you live because once you turn your back on this society, you may die. You may die. And it’s very hard to sit at a typewriter and concentrate on that if you’re afraid of the world around you. The years I lived in Paris did one thing for me, they released me from that particular social terror which was not the paranoia of my own mind, but a real social danger visible in the face of every cop, every boss, everybody… I don’t know what most white people in this country feel, but I can only conclude what they feel from the state of their institutions… You want me to make an act of faith risking myself, my wife, my woman, my sister, my children on some idealism which you assure me exists in America which I have never seen."
A post shared by NITCH (@__nitch) on May 29, 2020 at 10:30am PDT
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Hello, I’m @rachel.cargle, founder of The Great Unlearn. Thank you for being here. • I woke up this morning thinking of revolution. Head to the link in our bio to RSVP. • Thinking about what my ancestors and past leaders left for us. What tools and direction and foresight they offered. • When James Baldwin reminded us: “It is a very peculiar revolution because, in order to succeed at all, it has to have as its aim the reestablishment of the Union. And a great, radical shift in American mores, in the American way of life. Not only does it apply to the Negro, obviously, but it applies to every citizen in the country. This is a very tall order and desperately dangerous, but inevitable in my view because of the nature of the American Negro’s relationship to the rest of the country, of all these generations, and the attitudes the country’s had toward him, which always was, but now has become overtly and concretely, intolerable. • When Malcolm X made clear: “Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.” • When Fannie Lou Hammer started: “There is one thing you have got to learn about our movement — three people is better than no people” • When Nikki Giovanni explained: “We put our lives on the line because we understand that our lives were always on the line.” • When Angela Davis said, ““I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” • I’ll be giving a Public Address on Revolution this upcoming Saturday evening. If you’d be interested in hearing my words and my teachings please use the link in my bio to RSVP and you’ll receive the viewing details Saturday afternoon. • This live address will include my official response to the brutality happening to black bodies in the US. I will be pulling from the words of revolutionaries before us. I will be offering resources for action and highlighting the movement on the ground so that we all can show up in revolutionary ways. • I’m looking forward to being in conversation and community with you all. • TL:DR – the revolution is coming, RSVP link in bio. • Will I see you there? • #revolutionnow
A post shared by The Great Unlearn (@thegreatunlearn) on May 28, 2020 at 3:37pm PDT
I sign off here just to say this: be kind. Let people (specifically POC) tell their stories – even if they make you feel uncomfortable, even if you’d rather not hear them, and especially if it wakes you up from the prejudices buried within yourself. As a white woman, I know my privilege and I can pinpoint moments that I’ve let the racism I learned creep out. And, knowing that stings. Yet, I also know I’m privileged to watch this unfold and be untouched if I so choose. But, I choose to be awake. I can’t sleep anymore. It’s time to be apart of the solution, instead of a silent onlooker. I can’t protect my own peace and mental wellness without acknowledging that every breathing human deserves that same protection. This isn’t divisiveness and it isn’t negative energy. This is the world we live in, and we must wake up to it before we can ever take steps to make it better.
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Published by Kassie22
28-year-old adventuring-homebody in pursuit of a simple and intentional life. Writing it all down along the way. ✧
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Simply & Softly 