There are a million places to start. Lots of white people started with books by white folks. That’s comfortable. Here’s some other ideas that aren’t so uncomfortable…

Being anti-racist is about accepting another culture into your understanding. It’s about knowing enough of another culture to respect and honor it despite it not being your own.

James Baldwin is the ultimate. He’s the best author i’ve read, period. He writes of persecution and pain, but he writes more of beauty, humility, respect, and being alive. Blackness is a part of a whole, as it should be.

White people historically do not make a conscious decision to consume black art without punishing ourselves. Remember Roots? What is it that makes us look at the black experience in America and, instead of taking any actual responsibility, casually flog ourselves about it before moving right along? Why do we only make an active decision to share in black lives as a tool to illustrate historic wrongs?

Being a fan of blackness is not the same as actively deciding to support and learn about blackness.

We expect to feel guilty when we read black authors. We expect to read sad things. Zora Neale Hurston frees us from this so quickly in her best-known work, _Their Eyes Were Watching God_. Toni Morrison, Angela Davis, Audre Lorde all write to feel their power, not pain. This is legible to anyone who reads them, and stunning.

You know what’s fuckin’ great? 90s hip hop. Have you listened to NWA? Tupac? Admittedly one of these two is significantly more poetic than the other (and there are so many more greats out there!) but both are born of a culture cast aside and trampled. The story of rap and hip hop is beautiful in the way of the story of ebonics.

Remember ebonics? Like with hip hop, i picture flowers that grow in concrete. Ebonics is a triumph of humanity, a glorious revolutionary collaboration underpinning an entire culture. Do acquaint yourself with AAVE and it’s genesis. If you wanna know of human fortitude, you can find it in ebonics.* (And when the rabbit hole takes you down, code-switching is also deeply fascinating.)

Black culture has influenced everything in America. It’s right there for the grasping, consuming, understanding. You do not even have to ask a POC person to guide you. Indeed, i beg of you never to do that.

Anthropologists have long debated how well one can understand a culture that is not their own. i personally subscribe to the “relativism” school, wherein we admit to never truly understanding. Instead, respectful curiosity sates the desire, helps us witness and appreciate a group of people we may not ever understand.

i have been “invited to the barbecue”, and i have often not at all understood what was going on, who made a joke, etc. i am frequently left out, despite being included. Sometimes it isn’t fun, but then i realize: witnessing is a privilege. When traveling, i fully understand this concept. i just have to remind myself sometimes at home, too.

Witnessing is a privilege. Every POC voice broadens the view into an ignored world. Feel guilty if you must indulge your ego, but then get up and explore! There’s so much to learn, celebrate, and share.

i encourage you to pursue black joy. Black love. Black food.

i do not encourage you to pursue media like Black as Fuck, or Blackish and its whole family of trash. These shows are geared almost solely to make white folks comfortable. They do not at all reflect black culture.

Chase black content made for black people. Chase black creators of all kinds. Get excited about these things among white friends. Challenge yourself to buy online from POC businesses only. Finagle with changing your impact.

_Washington Black_ is an award-winning YA novel written by a black woman, Esi Edugyan. It’s a book about a slave, but it’s not about being black. Read until you understand the distinction.

Culture is subtle. It needs you to seek it. There is no way to appreciate a people without knowing something of their culture. Perhaps, even after years of seeking, one still might not understand so much. Anti-racism though, comes more easily with each experience shared.

Each shared experience feeds into the moment where our complicity shifts into active anti-racism. Each chance to witness and support POC is another step toward the world we always wanted, and expected. Each voice amplified is a chance at equality.

Do not simply imagine a world without police. Utopia is cute but there is work to be done.

Do not do only academic work. Theory is important, but it’s culture that truly teaches.

Do appreciate.

Do enjoy.

Don’t forget to dance.

* Quick history lesson courtesy of some woke whites.

This is a difficult time. It’s a time for recognizing our own shortcomings. A time of disappointment.

How can things have gotten this bad? They always were?

Some people knew this revolution would be inevitable. Their parents knew, for generations back. Those people are in this revolution for the long haul.

Suddenly black bodies and lives are starting to matter. We have a lot to learn to make this right.

White pals, for real, i feel your pain. i’m sorry for how brutal and raw and new this all feels. i’m sure there’s so much more complexity for you right now than you feel there is space allowed.

Your work starts at home. Start with you. Do some reading, and when you’re ready, discussing among fellow white people. This revolution is only for you in this way. This is our only opportunity to be effective allies. Our work starts way behind the front lines, all the way at home.

In no way here am i suggesting lack of participation otherwise. To be clear: the work you do at home should be done in conjunction with any other participation you can muster. You should be doing everything you can (always tend to your own needs first!) by following POC voices and leadership.

But the work at home is a fucking lot. It’s an emotional fuckwith, a gotdamn rollercoaster. An actual, real life nightmare. You have to be angry. At society, politics, money, everyone you know, yourself. Everything sucks, for real. But we are late af to this party. POC have been knowing this whole thing was garbage for generations. We gotta catch up.

This is our work. We don’t ask POC to help us. In truth, everything we need is available. There is all sorts of black-made media to be consumed. So many voices we might learn to understand. These are quiet ways to join the revolution at home. Discuss among friends. Gain that momentum.

i truly encourage shamelessly binging as much black music as possible and doing your best to enjoy the hell outta it. Listen a little harder to your favorite rappers.

This is going to be difficult for a long time, but you are doing this for the next generation. You’re doing it for actual American freedom. For fuck’s sake, freedom for all is worth the discomfort of some.

i am here for this. i am down to discuss and meet you where you are. i’m in it to say, “i have no idea. Maybe we should find out.” Come find me for talks about what it truly might mean to be of color in America. We can talk about what it means to be white too, if that’s needed. Let’s get this conversation going.

We can help. We have a part to play in this revolution. But it is not our revolution, and we must learn about that before we can change the world.

Out there now realizing /

This is their moment /

Kids of color standing up to own this /

Give room, listen, keep silent your admissions /

Relearn, grow again, go again /

Mutual aid, generational trauma /

Goliath in a Klan hood; David with a camera /

The world arrives to pay attention /

Give meaning to a generation /

The heart beats against the drum, erratic /

Screens tell stories automatic /

i heard it would not be televised /

But the revolution has arrived