I have a heavy heart. I have struggled to find the right words to say, afraid of saying the wrong thing, and wanting to be sincere and authentic. As an empath I feel everything. Yet I am one to think long before I speak and take time to digest my emotions before I am able to verbalize them.
This past week has been horrifying. I feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster, feeling anger, sadness, loss, grief, and exhaustion. I am deeply saddened by the on-going racial oppression of Black people, including constant discrimination, unequal opportunities, and policed brutality. I want to take this time to make space for Black people to express their frustrations and feelings. And for me to listen and support as a woman of color.
I often feel like I am not doing enough, and at a loss for this systemic issue (now with a 400+ year history). But I also am here to do my best, to set an example by speaking my own truth, by standing up against racist remarks by friends or people in passing, and by knowing that every little effort counts within a collective movement.
I want to and will continue to support my friends and clients of color. I see this not only being an issue of race, but a need for us on a global scale to see the intrinsic connection between all of us. There is no separation. If there is one person in pain, experiencing injustice, harm, it is bad for all. This must be seen as something we all tackle together, as a cohesive society, as a planet. We cannot grow separately; we must all grow together. We must better understand the stories, pain and experiences of the underprivileged, and to raise the bar and make changes to our justice system and to support the right people in leadership to make these changes on a local level.
We must realize that racism and injustice occur on a local and daily level for Black people and people of color. It’s not just a fear of being killed, but injustices (racial profiling, microaggressions, etc) happening on a day to day basis in the workplace, in our neighborhoods, that must stop. Change must happen in our day to day lives, not stop at police brutality.
We must continue to come together to combat the injustice.
We must continue to heal, so that those harmed by injustice do not continue to get triggered over and over every time another story or case of abuse occurs.
We must have empathy – respecting and understanding that everyone does not have the same privilege, and to know what that means. How that affects one’s livelihood and how we can take practical steps to show more love and empathy towards those who need to be protected and supported.
So I am here in my truth, listening, learning, supporting, and committed to making sure that Black lives do matter and Black people are heard.
Here are some ways you can join me in taking action today.
- Educate yourself. Learn what it feels like to be in the shoes of a Black person and a POC (person of color). Take the time to learn about topics such as police violence, economic inequality, and white privilege.
- Have difficult conversations at home and with friends. Speak up on social inequality and discrimination. It starts in your families, with friends, colleagues, and people you know.
- Donate money or resources to support the Black Lives Matter Movement.
- Change the narrative. Too often the news and media only highlight a certain perspective or the same racial profile and we need to shift this paradigm and story line around people of color.
- Support Black businesses. That person probably had to jump through a few extra hurdles to get to where they are in life, so give them your extra support.
- Recruit, hire, promote, and mentor black people. They are not proportionally represented in the workforce, or in leadership, and their voice matters and is needed.
- Correct an injustice, no matter how small it seems. Use your voice for good.
- Give homage to black culture, don’t appropriate it. Do your homework, read and learn about black history and raise awareness in your circles.
- Show love, support and empathy to your black friends. <3 Understand their struggles. Celebrate their successes.
- Don’t forget – the work is never done. We have a long way to go. This should not be a topic only important to us when it makes the news or when a Black person’s life is taken under police brutality. Change needs to happen locally as much as systemically. It requires collective effort, an awareness of the issues at stake as well as us to all take conscious action.
Thank you for listening,
Shian Chuan