Beyond Learning

I continue to be steeped in learning about the deep seated racism of this country and county and have been reaching out to others so engaged. Post women's march is what I expected - the maligned organizers whose consciences would not permit them to march in this county, continue with the on the ground work in support of local racial justice while the marchers ... I don't know how they will be affected after having a good march together.

Instead of marching I watched the live stream of the DC event and was profoundly impacted by the women presenters, almost all non-white, and happy to see the progression of discourse to contemporary issues of racism and intersectionality while we locally seem to be unable to have this conversation, or even sit in each other's presence.

Charmaine Lawson and supporters

This morning at the beginning of a week of action outside of the County Courthouse in support of Justice for Josiah Lawson asking the DA to prosecute the case or send it to the DOJ a few of us popped into the Board of Supervisors meeting to give a public comment about the issue. I looked into eyes of the all white panel, introducing myself as a white woman resident and brought unapologetically into the room our long and deep history of racial atrocities that bring us to our current predominantly white community and how this unprosecuted murder of a young black man is yet another instance of institutionalized racism - that if the tables were turned, black suspect and white victim, the judicial outcome would likely look different as would the community outcry. It is the young women organizers, participants in the White Fragility reading group, and the Equity Alliance meetings that have challenged me to use my privilege to speak truth to power and it feels good.

I have a history of privileging truth over politeness and it does not win me friends. I have thought of this as a character fault, a sign of poor upbringing, and in white culture it is all of that but now a crack is opening ... maybe this is my superpower ... recognized only by me, of course. Ha!