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Bear Witness
What does it mean to be a non-Black, person of color ally?
I have been struggling with how to articulate my thoughts and feelings about the last 10 days — Amy Cooper, George Floyd, protests, looting, riots, and beyond. These events are not new: the details change, but not the underlying thesis of diminishing and negating the rights and dignity of an entire race.
As I have paid attention to what and how people are reacting to, I have questioned what has made it difficult for me to openly talk about race, specifically the Black experience, in my own country. It is not enough for me to condemn racism, bigotry, police brutality, violence, corruption, inequality, and injustice. Any human being with a beating heart and a conscience can and should claim that position.
And then it occurred to me so clearly: I don’t know what it means to be a non-black, non-white ally. As a woman of color, as a South Asian-American, what is my role in nurturing a new paradigm?
Looking away is a privilege
In the June 1st issue of my weekly newsletter, I wrote this in reaction to online expressions of discomfort:
Injustice is uncomfortable. Violence is uncomfortable. Murder is uncomfortable. If you feel discomfort when you see these stories march across scrolling marquees on the news or when banner…
