WOW! In just one week, so much has happened, not just in the US but in the world.

But if we are sticking with the United States, mind-blowing stuff happened in this election process and I don’t think that there is a real understanding of where we are in terms of the history that we are making and the tragic legacy that we are leaving.

The heaviness that we are living with and in is dangerous for everyone’s mental health, even if you don’t know it. The perspectives on what is happening in this country and who we really are and have been as a nation are widening even as some people are finally waking up.

This recent 4th of July holiday impressed the importance of this on me, because social media was full of examples and stories of the different perspectives on this holiday, most particularly between African Americans, Native Americans, and White Americans. Let me be clear that I am not suggesting that there is universal thinking among everyone who identifies as a part of these groups, but enough sentiment was expressed to easily see a pattern.

Freedom and Independence in America and the celebration of it are cause for difficult conversations among us and few people, in particular White people, are prepared to have them. Until you know about Juneteenth, Native American genocide, and historical atrocities committed against Native Americans and Black people on July 4, 1776 (and before and beyond) that have purposely been left out of American history, it will be impossible to internalize and understand the divide.

Until you understand the complexity of Black and Brown families choosing to honor family members who served in a segregated and discriminatory military, the GI bill that allowed White families to purchase homes and leave a legacy but left the majority of Black veterans out of that benefit; until you are fully aware that the promise of freedom has not been achieved for us, your work has not begun. For so many of us, the reaction to this holiday is visceral. I personally grew up knowing this day as my sister’s birthday and was delighted that the country celebrated her with fireworks. Our parents never spoke of any other reason for celebration on this day, but almost daily spoke of their desperate hopes for us to grow up and live in a country where we are respected, equal, free, and safe.

Why We Can’t Wait is because that hope my parents had, the same that I have for my children, your children, and all children quite honestly is fading. There is so much work to be done and frankly, if White people are not engaging in this work in serious numbers, we will not see the promises of this country realized.

With anger and frustration levels at an all-time peak, where can White people start?

Start to develop and cultivate a real curiosity and need to know what you do not know about race in this country. If you are a parent/uncle/aunt/Godparent or just have their ear, talk with your children/teens about race in this country. Don’t just share the importance of having diverse friendships, but share also the responsibility they have as a White friend to be aware of the role and history of race in this country.

Create informal and formal groups for talking with each other about race. Pool your resources and bring in speakers of color who are in the business of educating folk on this issue. Too often we are asked to educate out of the kindness of our hearts and that gets tiring.

Stop telling us how you have tried to bring this up with your family members and you gave up, because they just don’t want to hear it. First of all, stop giving up and start getting resources. Second of all, we all already know how difficult it is to talk to your “collective family” members, we’ve been trying for decades.

Make an earnest, honest search to educate yourself without always asking People of Color to point you to resources.

And of course, STOP SAYING YOU WANT TO OR ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING AND JOIN US on our six-month-long journey with other White people and really begin to do the work on a personal level in order to start having these conversations, here.

White people who are already on the journey: Please don’t look at yourself as so evolved that you can slow down, take a long break, stop, or feel relieved that you are not one of those “unconscious” White people who are impeding progress. Keep going. We cannot escape it, so I am asking you not to invoke your privilege and take the easy way out. Encourage, Help, Teach, Organize, Engage.

People of Color: I know you don’t want me to ask you to do one more thing when it comes to this, but I will. Encourage the White people that you know to seek the resources to do the work. Assure them that “seek and ye will find” is still good advice.

For All Of Us Including and Maybe Most Especially Me: Let’s Keep Going, Our Literal Future Depends On It!

In Love,
Dr. Lynne