Q9. Taking Action

Question #9. What is your place in all this? Do you feel you can or should have a voice? How, concretely, can you contribute or are you contributing now?

·  My place in all of this... I would say is influential. I have conversations and make people think. I think I make people feel confident after talking to them. I feel like I can contribute more but at what cost? Will I become a martyr from my contributions? I don’t want to take it that far but if it is a part of my calling than I guess I will have to contribute more. I just want my black people in alignment with themselves as individuals and as a whole community and I think that’s where my contributions and focus should be right now.

· My place is on the front line. Whether it's marching with protest, or sending emails and making calls to let DA's across the country know we expect justice. I have a voice, and I should have a voice. I contribute in different forms. I support people who have good messages and campaigns that they need to grow. I support them by helping to push the message or contributing it's in buying a shirt or making a post. I also try to chime in whenever I see false information or thing's like that - that could further distract from the message of things.

· I should have a voice. I am helping my church craft a racial justice statement, we’ve helped at a BLM protest, had a sermon series on racial justice, and a guest speaker who is in a inter-racial marriage. I’m also going to be including the topic of racial justice in our weekly prayers from now on, including it as a topic twice a year or more, and actively seeking out organizations such as predominantly black churches that we can collaborate with around issues of justice. Personally, I’m working hard to get over my hurtful past experiences and encounters with more zealous racial justice advocates.

·  I believe that myself and others have the opportunity to change the trajectory of systemic racism from one that appears to be constant and ever-changing to one that is on the decline and will usher in the growth of a system of justice and egalitarianism. I am working on developing communication and leadership skills that I believe will be prudent to building rapport with many voices within the Black community because I know I can’t do this alone. Next I will look to develop ways of knowing where people’s strengths lie and how to maximize their strengths for the good of the collective. This will be realized through the way I talk to people at the protests and build new relationships through shared understanding..
·  Attending protests as an ally, listening, learning for my own sake and to effectively articulate arguments when confronted, and donating to organizations I trust.

·   I do feel I have a Ill STAND and Shake things up for the righteousness of Proper resources and care. I love to use my platform to inform, educate and empower. I always try to use every platform I have daily to be a vessel of information and resource Or work to seek available resources

· My place in this is to further work on modeling and teaching others how to uplift themselves from their personal oppressions. I truly believe that no changes to a system will help someone if they have been trained to oppress themselves, which I believe is the case for most people.

·  My place is a fairly small seat on what I like to call the side of reason. Tiny contribution. I feel I should be in charge though. Not just have a voice. THE voice. Make me supreme emperor of the world. I'll fix this whole thing up.

· Ma place est noble et à besoin d'être amplifier. En temps que camerounais je pense que beaucoup de choses restent encore à faire exemple a liberté d'expression.

My role is noble and needs to be amplified. As far as Cameroon is concerned, I think a lot remains to address, for example freedom of expression.

·  I did not do anything honestly. I just put up a black image on my Instagram. That does not mean I do not feel bad for people who are made to feel like a minority. What can I do? Please advise.

If, like this last respondent, you are looking for new ways to learn and contribute, we thought we'd share a few of our own favorite resources at the moment.

• Readings on race: One Drop of Blood: The American Misadventure of Race (Matt's pick), the NY Times' 1619 Project (Jane's pick)
• Charities involved in race issues: Showing Up for Racial Justice (Matt's pick), the Bail Project (Jane's pick)
• Political action: Write a letter to your local representative (if you'd like a template, ask Matt!!) and, most apropos today, make sure to VOTE! And do your research first-- the president is the biggest but not the only issue at stake. At sites like ballotopedia you can enter your address and get details on amendments and local politicians on the ballot too.