March Against Racism -- this isn't over!
Last weekend, on a blustery Sunday typical of early summer in Wyoming, we gathered with hundreds of other community members to march against racism in America. Yes, even in small-town Wyoming, where there is a marked lack of diversity, 500+ people showed up. We marched, sang, laughed, cried and loved. It was a beautiful thing. I’ve rarely been as proud of my community as I was when I looked around at the peaceful gathering in City Park.
My mom, sister-in-law, daughter, husband, and me, during the march around City Park. Photo courtesy of Christine Garceau.
What moved us to march, alongside our family, friends and complete strangers? It simply boils down to right versus wrong. It’s not a political issue, but one of humanity. Institutional racism in American is pervasive. The BIPOC (black indigenous person/people of color) community still faces threats and challenges (to safety, to education, to EQUALITY) in 2020 that they were fighting against 60 years ago, when Civil Rights marches were taking place all over the country. And many of us feel that the situation has worsened in the past few years. WTF? We have to be better.
The next photos (courtesy of Aaron Mulkey) portray various moments of the gathering. John Boyd, executive policy advisor for Kanye West, was the event’s keynote speaker. Local city officials and police force members (including the police chiefs and mayors from both Cody and Powell) took a knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in George Floyd’s memory. Signs were poignant and personal.
And there were men with big guns around the perimeter “keeping the community safe” from the busloads of ANTIFA rioters they just knew were on the way. (Yep, you guessed it — the rioters’ busses never showed up!) What I believe was an all-out effort to scare people away didn’t work. And I’m proud of that too — it took courage to walk past the armed vigilante militia. But we did it! They were truly the only element that I felt a need to be protected FROM all day.
This is far from over. Those of us who have lived our lives under the shelter and safety of our white privilege have to continue to listen, to learn, to advocate and to be good allies. Personally, I’m fully invested in doing everything in my power to be an authentic ally — rather than a performative one. More on that here and in the graphics below.
I’m reading and learning — White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin Diangelo and Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racisim, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad are in my reading queue. This week’s New York Times Bestseller List for non-fiction indicates that I’m not alone. That makes my heart sing.
Racial justice is an issue for us all. Let’s continue to move this forward, alongside the BIPOC community.
I’d love to know your thoughts, what you’re reading, and how you’re learning to be an authentic ally.
Take care of yourselves and others.
Love,
