This is Why

Recently, DeNeen L. Brown wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post titles, Black People are Tired of Explaining Racism”. In it she writes, “Explaining racism is exhausting. It’s exhausting to explain to people who don’t believe you, or who look at you with blank expressions. Or, worse, who ask, “How do you know that happened because of race?”

I don’t know Ms. Brown, but I have been in the room when a woman of color was questioned about the validity of her story. Repeatedly. I have been in the room when people of color are doubted simply because the white people in the room have never had to experience racism and cannot imagine what it feels like, looks like, sounds like…

I’m not an expert on race relations. I do not know what it feels like to experience racism. Sure, I know what sexism feels like. I have experienced my own injustices, but it is not the day in-day out experiences of a person of color. Because I don’t have as much melanin to merit the stares, the negative gaze, the doubt, the negative assumptions.

This is why I want to reach out and help families talk about race and racism in today’s society. I believe in the necessity of being actively antiracist and, Now We’re Talking, LLC is part of my action.

There are times when I get nervous about this idea because I need to remember that it is most often white people that are controlling the narrative. I am not speaking for people of color. This LLC is how I interrupt the dominant narrative. My goal is to inspire curiosity and conversation. My hope is that non-BIPOC parents and families will be able to remove some of the hesitation and fear that they experience when talking to their own families about race and racism. My hope is that the people I work with understand that the feeling of discomfort means growth. My greatest hope is that by encouraging and facilitating conversations about race and racism, the people I work with will be more likely to question their own assumptions, check their implicit bias, see with eyes wide open, and be curious and open to others’ lived experiences.