I will now be updating this post at a dedicated URL on this site: https://www.davidwrick.com/anti-racist-resources/
In watching the events unfolding since the horrific killing of George Floyd, I find that I have no words of my own that I can contribute to the conversation. Instead, I am looking to amplify the words of people with more to say, more relevant experience, and more knowledge than I have. While this blog is not one with a large audience, I cannot in any good conscience sit in silence on this ongoing crisis.
So, for now, I will say this–this, which needs to be said: Black Lives Matter. If anyone disagrees with that or wants to qualify it that “all lives matter” or similar, then I ask such a person to look for their empathy. We do not say to a cancer sufferer, “All people matter,” nor to a person whose home is on fire that “all houses matter.” Black Lives Matter is a response to a society that has behaved for far too long as though their lives do not matter–and anyone who cannot support the idea that their lives do matter has failed utterly in their humanity.
Oppressed people are crying out in protest, now, and I support their right to protest. I see nothing else to say. It is not for me to tell oppressed people how to express their rage and grief, so I will support them however I can, but as I’ve said above, I do not know what words of mine will be of any use. So, right now, the best I can think of is trying to gather and share resources. That is the purpose of this post, which I shall update as I encounter more.
Edit: With thanks to colleagues and friends who have shared more links with me!