Start Here: A BLM Guide For White People

Because Racism Wasn’t Built In A Day

In the last few months, my husband and I have gotten several text messages from a good friend. She’s a young, white woman with two kids, a husband, and a sleeve of bold, colorful tattoos.

We’ll call her Samantha. She’s a pastor in Atlanta and since the day I met her, she’s had open conversations with us about race and reconciliation. For her, caring about race issues didn’t just start a few months ago, yet she felt it right to text us and say she was sorry about the George Floyd murder and the social unrest.

While I found the gesture kind, I was confused about why she felt the need to send us these messages. I personally don’t need a pat on the back or an ‘I’m sorry’ right now; nobody does. We just need the justice system to be just.

I think, Black Lives Matter created a somewhat skewed perception for what we need from white people. White people, it seems, (and correct me if I’m wrong) feel as though all they need to do, is publicly acknowledge their stance on things, in order to make things right. And it’s a start, but really, it’s just a confession of guilt and acknowledgement, which honestly, doesn’t solve anything.

There is no quick fix to this issue. Questions like “what can I do?” and “How can I help?” are…