As we watched the racial events unfold over the past two weeks, we – like many of you – felt shock, anger, grief, sadness, and a multitude of other emotions. However, our United Way of Southwest Colorado team recognizes that experiencing those emotions and reacting in that way is, in itself, a privilege: a privilege to have not seen or understood the full picture of racial inequality and systemic injustice in our society.
United Way of Southwest Colorado has always worked toward closing the inequality gaps in our communities, specifically in the fields of health, education and financial stability. But what can we do, right here in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties, to work toward closing our country’s racial injustice gaps? Our suggestion is to turn your focus inward.
We, as a United team, have committed to listening, reflecting and educating ourselves. We have committed to have hard, but respectful, conversations with ourselves and with others. We have committed to seek out books, podcasts, documentaries, articles and other material that is just a Google search away, to gain a deeper understanding of and empathy for the black American experience.
It is easy to feel defensive in conversations and when consuming media reports. But we, as a team, have challenged ourselves to honor and question those feelings; to ultimately grow as individuals, as a team, and – we hope – as a society.
We’d like to challenge you, our incredible supporters, to do the same. Our team has committed to reading the following texts:
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
If you’d like to join us, we encourage you to order these books from your local bookstore and learn alongside us. Our hope for the future is great, but lasting change can never be achieved without honest, hard work behind it.
Yours in solidarity,
Al, Elise, Jessica, Jodi and Lynn
