Me and White Supremacy - Day 28: Your Commitments

Resource: Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Today is the last day of reflections for this book, and it revolves around commitments to ant-racism work moving forward. As Layla Saad said, “Antiracism is not about perfection. It is about the intention to help create change met with the consistent commitment to keep learning, keep showing up, and keep doing what is necessary so that BIPOC can live with dignity and equality.” The prompt was to begin to write down your commitments to this work.

I am committed to showing up in lifelong anti-racism work because everyone needs to be treated in a way that maintains and honors their humanity. I am committed to showing up in lifelong anti-racism work because ALL of my students deserve the same opportunities in their education and in their ability to access the outdoors and their relationships with the environment, as well as a teacher who builds relationships with them and values what they bring to the learning environment.

I am committed to continue learning about how I uphold white supremacy, about the historical context of present-day problems, and how to change my individual action/behaviors/ways of thinking to align with anti-racism.

I am committed to learning how to call people in and out (mostly calling people in), and it is something that I will be focusing on for the next several weeks (this is a big one for me).

I am also committed to working on being anti-racist in community. So far working with friends towards anti-racism in a formal space (Anti-Racist Coalition) has been extremely helpful and affirming. They push me to think deeper and are very supportive.

I am committed to work to dismantle systemic racism in my workplace (within the programs/curriculum I teach/plan, how students are able to participate in programming, in my own teaching practice, and with organizational practices).

I am committed to being a conscious consumer (something I have started to practice recently) by buying local and doing research on businesses to support BIPOC-led businesses as well as White-led ones.

I am committed to consistent learning/unlearning and re-learning through this blog - I have carved out time to work on it every morning, and that has been a helpful routine to remain consistent. I am integrating this work as part of my schedule and a routine part of my life (I had a rowing coach once who said that if it’s important to you, you can make time for it, and that has stuck with me).

One concept that really resonated with me from this book was the idea of being a good ancestor - it reminded me of the idea that we don’t inherit the world from our parents, but borrow it from our children. I don’t really want children of my own, but I do want future generations to live in a more equitable world, and I want them to be able to look back and recognize the efforts that I, and so many people, took to have them be at that point. Lately I have really been thinking about who will come after me, and making decisions based on how they might impact people 2 or 3 or more generations down the line. When I die, I want to know that I did everything I could to make sure that all people are allowed their humanity and that other people are carrying on the work.

This is what I am committed to for now, although I know that this list will evolve and grow. I plan on coming back to it every so often to modify it and reflect on these commitments. I’ll end this reflection with a powerful quote by Layla Saad: “No matter who you are, you have the power to influence change in the world. The effects of your actions, whether consciously chosen or not, will impact everyone who comes into contact with you and what you create in the world while you are alive. You can continue to unconsciously allow white supremacy to use you as it used your ancestors, to cause an impact of harm and marginalization to BIPOC. Or you can intentionally choose to disrupt and dismantle white supremacy within yourself and your communities so that BIPOC can live free of racism and oppression. The choice is yours. The moment is now. Help change the world. Become a good ancestor.”