Today’s post was not what I originally planned to send, but I’m pressing pause on my plans and making space to use my platform and amplify black voices and an issue that’s important to me. 

Here’s what I’m currently focusing on: 

Sharing Black Voices. This is a heartbreaking time, and it’s also not a time to center my own feelings about what’s happening. 

Instead, here are a few voices and messages I dove into this weekend that I encourage you to check out:

The Higher Learning Podcast has a wonderful episode on the importance of nationwide protests over George Floyd’s death. 

Karen Arrington’s book Your Next Level Life about how she became an activist at age 13 (!!!) and started a protest to have the racist name of her middle school changed. 

Rachel Rodgers shared an amazing and generous resource in her I Am Not Okay Blog and is also calling on other leaders to step up and do better. After listening to Rachel’s story, it’s important to know that you can personally like a mentor/leader/colleague and also feel disappointed in how they handled something and want them to do better. Rachel clearly expresses opposing “cancel culture” and asks for accountability.  

Mireille Charper’s Instagram Post on practical tips to be an ally. 

Education. Trudi Lebron hosted an excellent workshop this weekend called Show Up and Serve. You can purchase the recording here. 

Crediting Black Artists. There are an enormous number of beautifully designed quotes & images circulating around social media supporting Black Lives Matter, but many of those posts do not credit the original creator. Before I post anything, I work to track down the creator so I can credit/tag them appropriately. (Side note: it’s important for me to credit any artist, but I’m taking extra care never to co-opt and share Black art without proper credit.) 

Donating. There are so many wonderful organizations to make donations and support this cause. The Minnesota Freedom Fund, The Official GoFundMe George Floyd Memorial Fund, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. 

Thank you for reading. 

#Blacklivesmatter