Day 1: Ripples of White Ally-Ship

Hi Friends and Family,    Many of you have thought that Camerin did all of the writing for our various dispatches.   While it is true she has done a lot of the writing, we have collaborated on the ideas and the info to include and I am the Editor.   So it really and truly has been a collaborative effort and a blessing at that.  ; )    Today, however I am writing and you will soon understand why.  Beyond writing emails and engaging in hard conversations around race and privilege, Camerin uses her art and producing prowess to “speak” on the subject.   Last weekend she performed in one virtual event and collaborated on the production of another.  I watched both events virtually Saturday night when I was back home.   I hated that I wasn’t with her.   I was so motivated by the artists that presented in these events, I found myself wanting to do more myself in this realm.   Of course I absolutely love the piece that Camerin perf...

Dear Friends and Family,  Here we are again at the beginning, because for us as white people, we have to recommit every day to being anti-racist.  Our priviledge affords us the opportunity to forget, to get caught up in our daily lives and once again overlook the injustice being enacted on our Black and brown sisters and brothers. We hope these weekly emails will serve as a friendly reminder that there is still work to do and we can and must be engaged on a regular basis in the work of anti-racism.  It must be part of our on-going, regular thought processes, of awareness and action.  In some ways it feels like it’s been longer than a week and in others it feels like just yesterday we were exchanging daily emails, ideas and resources.  In the last week, we have slept more and regained a little balance in our lives but we also miss you.  We miss this community of supportive white folks dedicated to equality and equity and we are excited to create this weekly ...

Dear White Family, Friends and Neighbors, We can’t be more grateful for your joining us on this journey.   We’ve created a habit of being consciously anti-racist each day.   Have you been thinking about what you want to do to stay buoyant and committed, always learning and discovering what it means to be an authentic ally.   How do you plan to continue the journey?   Please share so we can keep the momentum going.  We’re committing to sending out weekly emails for the next two months (at least)- opt in or out by taking our quick survey .  This journey can sometimes feel depressing, it’s hard to believe that things are as bad as they are. But being hopeful is what will fuel our ongoing commitment. Today we discovered this hopeful interaction between Cornel West and Anderson Cooper. Listening is a great way to end our 30 day practice.   It’s hard not to absolutely love Cornel West. In one of these clips he moved Anderson Cooper to tears.  Cornel Wes...

Dear Family!  Today we’re reflecting.  Reflecting on the 29 days we’ve spent in community with you.  Thinking of each of you everyday as we navigate putting together your actions and resources for each day’s follow up.  Basking in your support and offering you ours.   This has been a life changing experience for us and we hope it has been for you too.  Thanks for engaging with us on this sprint.  We have definitely been thinking about how much Black lives matter each day for the past 29 and look forward to how this habit manifests itself in all aspects or our lives as we continue on the marathon.  We don’t believe this work will be over in our lifetimes but we do believe in change and we’re here for it.  We’re committed to doing this work for the long haul and we know that is made easier and more possible when we’re in community with you.  So we hope you’ll continue to make ripples with us until those ripples combine into waves....