What Comes Next?
Audre Lorde said, “Your silence will not protect you.”
Our silence won’t magically make the fear and pain in the hearts of our neighbors and loved ones go away.
Shaking our heads and saying, “That’s a shame,” while we scroll past the news isn’t enough.
Sharing a video of a dying man isn’t justice – it’s adding to the paralyzing fear in the hearts of friends in our newsfeed.
Sitting here at my laptop, staring at a blinking cursor while trying to find the words isn’t enough.
Words aren’t enough.
Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough.
Running with Ahmaud isn’t enough.
It’s time to put our mouths, hands, feet, and entire bodies into the front lines for justice.
What should we do next? We are going to HOLD the families and precious lives of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown - and all of the names throughout history that we don’t know – close to our hearts.
Then we will LISTEN, we will LEARN, and we will LEAN IN to the work of justice for all.
But how do we listen? How do we learn? How do we lean in? Here are some of the resources that have helped us here at SheHopes.
LEAN IN:
Buying books is a great first step - but that’s not the end. In fact, it’s actually the beginning.
We’ve made these templates for all of us to use as we decide and commit to our next steps. Save it to your phone, add your next steps, and share it with others! We’d love it if you would tag us in your posts so we can encourage you as we work together!
One for your Instagram Story…
And one for Facebook…
This work, this very important work, is what will bring about real and lasting change. This is a time to educate ourselves, listen to the stories of those around us, and do the hard work of looking into our hearts and being willing to change how we view the world.
It’s time to put our eyes, hands, feet, and money into the work of fighting for liberty and justice for all.
Here’s to HOPE.