So obsessed are they with preserving order that they spend more time addressing the “right” way to go about social change than addressing the actual grievances the movement seeks to change. In this they become an unknowing ally to the right.
The sentiment expressed in this excerpt from MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, has timelessness again and again. Every time there has been a movement for social justice there has been those who jump in the middle, to wag their finger at its methods.
Companies also engage in this form of activism, by commodifying movements for their own use. Activism must be productive, either in spreading information and awareness, or in causing material change.
As movements for social change grow, such as Black Lives Matter, individuals, corporations, and local governments look for ways to get involved. However, not all forms of participation are equally constructive and some can be damaging by taking focus away from genuine solutions.
On June 2 of 2020 #BlackoutTuesday, which was meant to elevate Black voices and discussions of racism, instead flooded users’ feeds with unconstructive posts and drowning informative posts regarding racism.
The robbing of reproductive rights will undoubtedly have a disproportionate effect on Black and Brown women. “In 2019, the abortion rate for Black women was 23.8 per 1,000 women. For Hispanic women, it was 11.7 per 1,000. And for White women, it was 6.6 per 1,000.”
When we no longer think of issues in this binary we are capable of seeing a fuller picture, of how issues which, at a glance, may only affect a given group disseminate to affect us all. As such by opposing one oppressive system we oppose them all.
#CriticalRaceTheory explores how race affects us, both as individuals and parts of larger systems. As #CRT becomes a stand-in for reckonings with privilege, Black teachers struggle to justify teaching America's past. Read more from @aliceraeherman via @inthesetimesmag
“we abolished all the prisons and schools the same day … and the people returned home singing” - @alexispauline
a prayer heard at @makingusmatter 🤲🏿🕊✊🏿
Quotes from our "Unpacking anti-Blackness" webinar with @due_east_equity where we discussed how we reimagine schooling and prepare to do the work necessary to provide quality education that combats anti-Blackness and centers the needs of our students and communities.