It is hard for me to even begin to express my gratitude for all I have learned from the courageous truth telling of The Witness over the last few years & specifically through Jemar Tisby & Tyler Burns on Pass the Mic. They have helped me; at least in part, dismantle my destructive white savior mentality, my own silence and complicity in racism in its many forms, and helped me understand institutionalized racism in ways that I was blind to because of my privilege and experience. I truly want to learn to be an ally and that requires a lot of work in the quiet of my soul AND a lot of processing in community AND action allowing those most wronged by racism to lead us to dismantle racist ideologies and systems. The Witness often reminds us that often in our haste to arrive at reconciliation we often don’t take a hard look at the truth of history.
We are all made in God’s image and any denial of that leads to death and destruction for both the oppressed and the oppressor. Jemar Tisby’s work calls us to lament, healing, and action…..
In my own life Jemar Tisby inspires me to risk in this area, “Standing for racial justice involves risk. But effective advocacy is a skill just like any other, and skills can be learned. Ultimately, though, you cannot read your way, or watch your way into skillful advocacy. At some point you must act. Go forth not in fear but in faith that even your mistakes will increase your capacity to disrupt racism.” I am trusting his words and “praying while moving me feet.” May I; as someone who is no expert and still on this journey of learning and relearning, humbly suggest a few places to start that I have learned from others engaged in this work.
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