We Will Never Go Back #blacklivesmatter

We are back on Instagram and back working on our guide and fulfilling this dream, but we are never going back to the world as we left it. On May 25th, George Floyd was murdered when a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. This act in itself was barbaric and reprehensible, but, almost as frightening, was the fact that so many of us were so shocked…so many of us who believed ourselves to be allies and friends had never truly grasped the severity of systemic racism and all of the brutality that exists within that oppressive system.

We launched If Lost, Start Here almost 2 years ago and committed ourselves, from Day 1 to making this space inclusive, representative and safe. We bought Rachel Cargle’s “Unpacking White Feminism”, we read articles, we consulted friends, we featured some amazing black-owned businesses and spaces. We tried. We are here to tell you that WE HAVE NOT DONE ENOUGH. Not even close. We are also here to tell you that THIS CHANGES NOW. We are not perfect, and never will be, but we are committed, and we will not let the momentum of this movement stop. Not here.  If you are a white woman, we hope you’ll join us in our ongoing effort to be forcefully anti-racist.

Here are a few steps we’re taking now:

• We are protesting (even when our social anxiety says to stay home)

• We are donating to bailfunds (in Minneapolis and Louisville) and @thelovelandfoundation (a therapy fund for black women and girls)

• Amanda is reading Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to Be An Anti-Racist” and Mikki Kendall’s “Hood Feminism”. Claire is reading Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility” (We are sharing/discussing as we go.)

• We are listening to Layla F. Saad’s “Good Ancestor” Podcast

• We are having uncomfortable conversations with friends and family (because nothing is as uncomfortable as being persecuted for over 400 years)

• We are educating our children, laying the foundation with a real look at American History. (Check out the Oh Freedom! curriculum we’re using here.) We are incorporating stories of powerful and pivotal black men and women throughout history. (The books we purchased this week are from Bay Area bookseller @ashaybythebay)

• We are buying from black-owned businesses and paying content creators for their knowledge/time/emotional energy (we should have been doing this consistently much earlier. We are committing to making up for that now.)

• We are following lovely people like Kat Vellos who are helping us to navigate our relationships with our black friends.

• We are reveling in the joy that is twitter. (We are KPOP fans now.)

• We are committing to KEEP UP THE FIGHT by making If Lost a resource that is truly representative of the world we live in.

• We are committed to using this platform to highlight black-owned small businesses, particularly community spaces founded by Black womxn. (As always, we will approach from the angle of mental health and community impact.)

• We will accept responsibility for the role we’ve played in perpetuating a system that has benefited us.

• We will not process our feelings or air our grievances in the comments sections of the black women we admire. We will not expect anyone to educate us.

• We will vote.

• We will center black voices without our analysis.

• We will not wait for more educated people to impart their knowledge. We will seek it out, and we will compensate the creators.

• We will sign petitions and send emails and apply unyielding pressure.

• We will be active in dismantling a system that has been broken since its inception.

• We will make mistakes.

• We will keep fighting.

We hope you’ll join us.