Me and White Supremacy: Day 27 Journal Questions
I’m leading a group discussion circle on “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla F. Saad. I’m taking the journaling challenge daily throughout February even though I’m not white. If you happen to be white, why not take the challenge? If I can do it, you can do it too.
Day 27 Questions (from the text):
1. In what ways will your privilege need to change in order for you to consistently practice antiracism?
2. How will you need to change the way you take up space for and with BIPOC?
3. How will you need to show up differently for BIPOC?
4. What risks must you be willing to take? What sacrifices must you be willing to make?
5. What comforts must you be willing to lose?
6. In what ways will you need to take greater responsibility?
7. How will you need to decenter whiteness and the white gaze?
8. How will you need to lose privilege and safety in your friendships, workspaces, businesses, families, spiritual communities, and other whitecentered spaces?
9. Are you willing to lose your white privilege after everything you’ve learned here?
In the final week, it would seem the author is giving us a bit of a reprieve. Perhaps that’s because we did a lot of the heavier lifting early on. If the first three weeks were about going deep, this one is about spreading wide what we’ve learned, and making sure our impact in our anti-racism journey resonates as far as possible.
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This chapter is by far the shortest — I think deliberately so. I’ll be equally brief to follow suit.
In a previous post I think we covered the concept of losing privilege. It seems that prior to closing out the book, the author wishes to drive home this point once more, and the point that progress requires change. If you believe that change is necessary to bring about equity and equality where matters of race are concerned, and you believe that somehow that change doesn’t include you, then it’s entirely possible you need to start this book anew from day 1. We all have a responsibility to create change for the better by resisting white supremacy.
Change involves an element of risk. What have you risked lately for your principles?
Change can include discomfort. What have you done lately outside of your comfort zone?
If you have to think too hard and too long to remember when the last time either of these have happened, maybe it’s time for the type of self-check-in I mentioned yesterday.
I’ll end with this: Please re-read question #9 from the list above.
