“GOOD” White People: We Must Outwork the Racists

“GOOD” white people: I know you’re out there.

We marched ?on the 58th anniversary of the March on Washington through the streets of Washington DC and cities across the country to demand the Federal government protect voting rights.

March On for Voting Rights Washington DC August 28, 2021

We marched ?last summer in all 50 states to demand the end of racism and police murder.

We -43% of white people - marched to the polls in November 2020 and got Joe Biden and Kamala Harris elected, and Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

Now is not the time to rest. Now is the time to double down.

Racist white people are outworking us.

They are attacking our democracy, public health, public education, and the rule of law.

At the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Across our country, introducing more than?400 voter suppression bills in 49 states .

In California trying to unseat our Governor ?who won by 3 million votes in 2018.

At school board meetings.

In the Kmart parking lot in Portland Oregon.

At the Miami airport.

“Bigoted and anti-democratic groups aim to sow chaos to promote their dangerous and exclusionary agenda as an alternative to local government.” -?Eric K. Ward , Western States Center

Racists would rather burn this country to the ground than cede one iota of their power.

President Biden and Democrats are not fighting back hard enough ?when we need them to fight like hell for us, the people who elected them.

“GOOD” white people: is this the future we want for ourselves and our children?

If it's not, we must outwork the racists.

I know what you’re thinking:

“I am a good white person.”

“I read White Fragility.”

“I am not a Proud Boy, those folks don’t have anything to do with me.”

“I am exhausted just keeping my family going in the pandemic.”

“I donate to Democrats.”

“I voted for Biden.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

Those thoughts cross my mind, too, but they are nothing but EXCUSES.

Our apathy, silence, and inaction are complicity in white supremacist violence.

Antiracism is not sticking a Black Lives Matter sign in the window and calling it a day.

Antiracism requires we attack racism every day and in every way.

Here’s what we can do, “GOOD” white people:

Get together with as many “GOOD” white people as we know - while respecting COVID precautions- and?figure out ?where and how we can be most effective.?Listen to and follow the leadership of local activists of color ?about our role in the movement and?what our demands should be .?Commit to continuing to work together - even when the going gets rough- for as long as it takes to create a safe and healthy society for all.?Listen to, encourage and support each other , and invite more “GOOD” white people to join us.

Some things we can do:

Go to school board meetings and demand our schools teach the truth about US history and enact mask and vaccine requirements.

Walk out of our jobs and demand our states enact mask and vaccine requirements.

Demand President Biden and our Senators?reject the filibuster and protect voting rights .

Demand our governors and state legislatures protect voting rights and enact mask and vaccine requirements.

Demand our Federal lawmakers ensure all the white supremacist terrorists who attacked our Capitol and everyone involved in planning, funding, and inciting the attack on January 6th are tried and punished.

Demand our employers?not donat e to lawmakers condoning the January 6th insurrection and opposing voting rights.

Donate and volunteer for?organizations led by people of color ?dedicated to protecting and turning out the vote.

Get involved in?mutual aid ?in your community.

Convince every white person we know ?that racism is wrong and will kill our democracy if we don’t fight like hell.

Engage in?deep canvassing ?to white people we don’t know.

Raise our kids antiracist .

Diversify the?voices we listen to for political analysis . Sign up for the Democracy in Color?newsletter ?and listen to Steve Phillips?podcast .

“Share information within your network from trustworthy news sources and organizations.” ?-Fola Onifade, Democracy in Color

When we see our family and friends sharing inaccurate information,?counter them .

Aim for?accountability, not perfection .

Here are 103?more?things we can do .

This is not an exhaustive list.

Most importantly, stay the course.

Black people are exhausted . White people created racism, we benefit from it, and it is our work to end it. We built white supremacy over 500 years, and it’s not going away in a day.

Don’t get demoralized and quit, “GOOD” white people.

In every generation, a handful of “GOOD” white people fought this battle, knowing full well progress in their lifetime would be incremental. But like?John Brown , they fought until their last dying breath, and we must, too.

When federal authorities asked about his motive for raiding the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, John Brown said: “We came to free the slaves, and only that .”

Outworking the racist white people is not an act of charity. It is an act of survival- for all of us.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Karen Fleshman Esq. she/her is a single soccer mom, mentor, activist, entrepreneur, attorney, author, educator, and proud San Franciscan. She is the founder of?Racy Conversations , a workplace workshop facilitation company, with a mission to inspire the antiracist generation. She is seeking a publisher for her first book?My Name is Karen and I am an Antiracist.