In light of recent events, the ALC Mosaic staff and our Becoming Trustworthy White Allies community group feel it essential to reaffirm our commitment to social justice and our recognition of our role in the greater fight for liberation for all community members.
In 2014, we first heard the words “I can’t breathe” from Eric Garner as he died at the hands of the NYPD. These words have become a desperate cry from the Black community to those of us who have the privilege and the power to amplify their voices and effect change. “I can’t breathe” has become symbolic of a constant fear and outright oppression that keeps our Black community members in a constant fight for their right to exist peacefully. Despite six years since Eric Garner’s death, “I can’t breathe” were the same words George Floyd uttered just weeks ago as police once again violently took the life of a well-loved Black man.
George Floyd and Eric Garner are not the only Black community members we have lost to police violence and systemic racism. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Keith Lamont Scott, Danquirs Franklin, Philando Castille… the list goes on. For decades our Black community members have described and fought their treatment under a system steeped in systemic racism; shamefully, it has taken a widespread capability to video record these tragedies for the dominant culture to finally believe them.
As protests sweep our country and millions of voices cry out for change, ALC Mosaic stands firmly behind the fight for liberation and an end to systemic racism. Our continued commitment to amplify the voices of black and brown community members remains firm and our collective work towards becoming trustworthy white allies continues. We believe Black Lives Matter and we are committed to taking actions that communicate that belief. We will continue in these commitments until every single member of our larger community can breathe freely.
As we look for ways to show solidarity and offer ongoing allyship to the Black people in our immediate and larger community, we make every effort to imagine the current and historic pain and intolerable circumstances of persecution. We acknowledge that any words we come up with are hollow if not backed up by the integrity of action. Here we reaffirm our commitment to working on our allyship, to actively listening to our Black community members, and to taking actions that amplify the voices of those most vulnerable. Along the way, we will make mistakes and we hope that you, our community, will hold us accountable to our commitments.
We would like to take this opportunity to specifically invite our white presenting Mosaic community members to join us in making ALC Mosaic and the community that surrounds us a safer space for Black people. Let’s help each other become better allies, finding a way forward that is rooted in the knowledge that Black Lives Matter; taking actions that make our community stronger and better.
If you’re feeling lost at this time or if you don’t know what to do, we understand that feeling. Although we are also still finding our own way, we welcome you to join us in taking the lead from Black leaders and activists, participating with us in some impactful ways outlined below. The list of actions that follows this statement have been cultivated by our Becoming Trustworthy White Allies community group. This list has been created with a commitment to following and amplifying the leadership of Black people already doing this work as well as a commitment to insisting we as white community members do our own work to be supportive allies. While this list is specifically geared towards white community members looking for ways to get involved, we are sharing this list with our full community as a means of accountability to our BIPOC community members.
Nothing can bring back the Black lives lost or undo generations of suffering due to systemic racism. What we can do is recognize the ways we have benefited (and lost- we ALL have lost) from this system, hold each other accountable, and support one another in doing better going forward.
Below are the signatures of those who composed this statement and who are willing to hold space for anyone who would like to learn more or join us in our efforts.
In Allyship,
ALC Mosaic’s Becoming Trustworthy White Allies Community Group
ALC Mosaic Staff
***ACTIONS FOR RIGHT NOW***
Support Bail Funds. Donate to local organizations supporting the work of protestors and keeping them out of jail. (Charlotte Uprising Bail Fund DONATE HERE)
Get educated. Learn about the history of policing in the US:
Have conversations with family and friends who are affiliated with CMPD and other police forces. We recognize that individual police officers are not all overtly racist or violent. We also recognize that the police system in our country is based in - and still trains and encourages today - practices that are inherently racist, classist, and escalatory in nature. The first step in effecting change is to look honestly at our current situation from all sides.
Show up. Find out what is going on in the streets of our city and show up if you can (be sure to check to see who the organizers are. Black leaders should be leading public actions, not white people.) Call a friend from Mosaic to invite them to go with you. We don’t have to have a culture of pressure or judgement, and/but it would also be great to have a culture of openness and sharing what is needed and what we are each doing to help. Let’s talk and encourage one another in our work
Organize “your own.” Talk to and enlist the solidarity of white people in your other communities (family, work, religious organization, friend groups, neighbors). Don’t remain silent. Get your people to take an action together.
Resource Black folks doing anti-racism work. Donate to on the ground organizations who are supporting the Black community in this time of need
Sanctuary in the City supports BIPOC healers and their work to create access to wellness in their own communities. DONATE HERE
Heal Charlotte works to unite the community by creating an open dialogue between the citizens, police and elected officials.
Be held accountable. Be open about your efforts and welcoming of critique. It can be uncomfortable at first but that's ok. This is a learning process and the first few steps are the hardest.
ACTIONS TO SUSTAIN YOUR WORK
Don’t be a burden; do get support. Talk to white friends you know are doing the work and sort through your feelings and discomforts. We all have them, but it's important we not lay them at the feet of our Black community members. You can join this Becoming Trustworthy White Ally’s group for such work and to be held accountable.
Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
Becoming Trustworthy White Allies by Melanie S. Morrison
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
Get educated. Check in on your understanding of history. Remember, history is the story told by the winners. Historically, Black people weren't the winners. Here's some resources to get you started:
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Fire Next Time by James Balwin
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Check your feed. Who are you getting your news from? Are Black voices represented?
Check your screen, page, soundtrack. Expand your media consumption to include creators of color. Here are some options to get you started:
List of 110 Important Films from the African American Film Critics Association:
Ongoing list of books on the Well Read Black Girl website. Also buy or check out the book, Well Read Black Girl, for many more reading ideas.
Support Black-owned businesses. Put your money toward Black folk’s livelihoods.