"The work of being anti-racist requires action in our daily lives that continues long after hashtags stop trending. It can feel daunting and overwhelming to tackle the big problems of the world when we’re also tackling energetic toddlers to get them dressed in the morning or living with sleep deprivation during those first months with a newborn.
As mothers, we want our children to feel safe and loved. We all want to create a better world for them. Artist, author, and mom Cleo Wade speaks directly to our mama hearts in her book, Where to Begin: “The world will say to you: end racism. Start by healing it in your own family. The world will say to you: how do we speak to bias and bigotry? Start at your own kitchen table.”
The world will say to you: end racism. Start by healing it in your own family. The world will say to you: How do we speak to bias and bigotry? Start at your own kitchen table.
Change can feel within reach when we can control what we can control in our own homes and grow from there. Here are some ways you can take action (from home) this week.
Continue Your Anti-Racist Education
Listen to a podcast, start a new book, or stream a film about racial injustice like 13th or Just Mercy. Watch together and discuss it with your partner or friends and family.
Seek Out Stories From Black Voices
For non-Black parents, reexamining your own experiences and reflecting can help lead to greater understanding and empathy for those whose experiences differ from our own. Seeking out other voices and stories can help explore conscious and unconscious bias within ourselves.
Sign Petitions and Make Phone Calls
Phone trees to local officials and signing online petitions are some ways to take action from home if you can’t attend a protest.
Give to Black Lives Matter Causes
Many organizations are working hard to support BIPOC in our communities and our country. If you can, set up recurring donations to keep up the support.
Read a New Book or Watch a New Movie With Your Kids
Whether you buy titles from a Black-owned business or pick up a few at your local library, books written by diverse authors featuring diverse characters are such a great way to celebrate differences and start conversations about race with your kids.
Buy From a Black-owned Business
Including Black-owned businesses as part of your daily life is one more way to support the movement. Make a few part of your regular online shopping and take-out routine to keep your commitment ongoing.
Find Moments of Joy This Week
This one is for the Black moms, as it’s been written and shared: joy is an act of resistance. Like every mom, you deserve self-care, support, and celebration surrounding the small and the big moments in motherhood. We hope you find your joy this and every week.
There is so much to be done to further the movement, but coming back to Cleo Wade’s wisdom, she also wrote, “Do not be afraid to say I know I can’t do everything, but I can do something.” We can all do something.