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It’s more important than ever to speak up on issues of racism. Stop hateful language whenever you hear it, even when it’s hard...especially when it’s hard. Here are some topics to get you started. Info and resources to help you are on the other side! - Native people have rights to Treaty lands
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- Whose land was this originally, right where we’re sitting today?
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- All lives will matter when Black lives matter
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Tips for tough conversations about racism with your friends and family
- Trump voters decided that racism, homophobia, misogyny weren’t dealbreakers - Protests are not riots
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- What are ways we benefit from having white skin without even noticing?
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* time to make things awkward.
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ReCOGNiZ
White privilege: Unearned benefits from being white. Privilege doesn’t mean you haven’t struggled or don’t experience pain and rejection...it means there are injustices you don’t have to think about or experience because of your skin color.
FOR T U O WATCH
White fragility: The knee-jerk reaction white people have when asked to talk about race: tears, anger, and defensiveness that takes the conversation away from issues of racism and focuses on their hurt feelings instead.
DiscussioN PoiNTs Native people have rights to treaty lands - and they aren’t just on Reservations. Sacred sites, burial grounds, and natural resources like water and hunting are part of the agreements made with the US Government. It’s our job to honor those treaties - and after the genocide of millions of First Nations people as part of our colonization, it’s essential to our understanding of the present. http://indianlaw.org/content/treaty-rights-and-un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples http://sacredstonecamp.org/federal-violations/
Whose land was this originally? Maps of First Nations peoples prior to colonization are an easy google away - check out the map to the left. It doesn’t threaten us at all to recognize that our shared history was violent and that we are all on Tribal land. How can we show our gratitude in today’s world? How can we show respect to Native Americans around us? http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/08/honor-native-americans-without-appropriating/ http://endgenocide.org/learn/past-genocides/native-americans/
All lives matter. You bet they do! But people of Color, especially Black people, are shown daily that their lives do not matter when it comes to police violence and discrimination. Unarmed Black men are 3.4X more likely to be shot by the police than unarmed white men. We have to hold our police, schools, banks, and politicians accountable for racist actions. All lives WILL matter...when Black lives matter too. http://blacklivesmatter.com http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/07/data-police-racial-bias
Trump voters decided that racism, homophobia, misogyny weren’t dealbreakers. Some voted for him because of shared racist ideas, but many folks didn’t like those parts about his campaign and simply shrugged it off. If that’s the case, how can we respond to the 700+ hate crimes since the election? How can we support communities that are now at even greater risk? What’s the role of compassion and empathy in our politics? How can we be helpers and upstanders? https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/11/18/update-incidents-hateful-harassment-election-day-now-number-701 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-racist-examples_us_56d47177e4b03260bf777e83 https://www.noodle.com/articles/10-ways-to-teach-your-child-to-be-an-upstander
Protests are not riots. The First Amendment gives us right to free speech and free assembly. Blocking traffic and disrupting the day-to-day has been used since the Boston Tea Party...a protest that involved lots of material damage. MLK, Jr. said “a riot is the language of the unheard.” If it makes you uncomfortable, it’s working. Remember when your college team won and people poured into the streets, chanting, drinking, and lighting couches on fire? If that’s not a “riot,” then neither is protesting for reducing police violence or against politicians that endanger the lives of marginalized people. http://tinyurl.com/AmericasLongHistoryProtests http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2096654_2096653,00.html
What are ways we benefit from having white skin without knowing it? (See definitions to the left.) We live in a culture designed by white people that silently benefits white people. Recognizing this shouldn’t make anyone feel guilty - it’s the air we breathe, it’s the world we inherited. Most of us aren’t familiar with this, so brainstorm together. Check the hashtag #whiteprivilegemeans to get you started: everything from not HAVING to think about race every day; to being treated with respect at banks, schools, and stores; to having band-aids and crayons that match your skin color. Stats: https://www.thenewprogressive.net/ultimate-white-privilege-statistics/?r=true
www.facebook.com/whitenonsenseroundup www.whitenonsenseroundup.com @nowhitenonsense