Dear White People, This is What We Want You to Do
I don’t want to hear “I can’t believe this.”
I want you to read up on the history you’ve had the privilege to ignore.
I don’t want your opinions or thoughts.
I want you to listen to the Black experiences you’ve chosen to forget.
I don’t want your #BLM Instagram story reposts.
I want screenshots of your bail out money donations and patronage of Black labor/art/knowledge.
I don’t want your passive Twitter likes.
I want you to follow Black tragedies as much as you follow Black trends.
I don’t want to vindicate your white guilt. It’s yours to reconcile.
I want you to check your racist parents and call out your apathetic white friends (especially when there are no people of color there) without expecting a pat on the back.
I don’t want your tears. I have plenty of those.
I want you to check in on your Black loved ones and respect our emotional/physical boundaries.
I don’t want to diminish the adversity you’ve faced from aspects of your identity.
I want you to acknowledge that your life is easier because you’re white. I want you to admit that you would never choose to be a Black person— because you know your life would be harder.
I don’t want you to be “a good white.”
I want your activism to be questioned and challenged and criticized by Black people. I want you to grow from your mistakes so we can grow as a nation.
I don’t want your out-of-context MLK quotes on perpetual pacifism.
I want you to see that the only difference between The Boston Tea Party “protestors” and the Stonewall, Watts, and Rodney King “riots” is the former were white and the latter were Black. I want you to be disobedient to signal the need for change and destroy the oppressive systems that make you comfortable and powerful.