This is a hard pill to swallow for white women…

Historically, white women have played a key role in sustaining white supremacy.

For generations of white women, “whiteness” has been a tool of domination over indigenous people and people of color to maintain what little status they had in a misogynist world. Our mothers were our first models for how to address or to avoid addressing our own racism and privilege

Even though we may not consider ourselves racist, we benefit from racist systems in our society. And our silence and indifference in our daily lives allow violence against people of color to continue.

This is something I continue to feel strongly about:


For white women, anti-racism work MUST go hand-in-hand with our empowerment /healing work. In other words, healing the mother wound AND anti-racism work must happen concurrently. This is the work of our times. And it’s been an “elephant in the room” in modern feminism. Many of us are not comfortable talking about racism. But if we are serious about transforming the world, it’s the deep inner work we must do.

If you are a woman of color, please know that I am committed to this work on a daily basis and until my last breath. It’s critical to me that the spaces I create are truly nourishing and uplifting to you.

If you are a white woman, this is hard stuff to confront. Our role is not to lead here, but to listen and learn. The challenge of learning is nothing compared to the challenges that people of color face on a daily basis. Their lives are on the line every day. We can’t wait until it’s convenient for us to change.

It’s especially important for white women who are leaders, healers or coaches, who want to empower ALL women; to commit to anti-racism work.

Here’s where I’m excited to introduce you to one of my teachers Rachel Ricketts.

 

Rachel is an outspoken champion for women of color. She is a racial justice advocate, lawyer, writer, and an anti-racism educator. She educates white people on their role in perpetuating white supremacy, helps POC heal from internalized oppression, and offers practical solutions for all of us to dismantle racist hetero-patriarchy.

Last year I had a conversation with Rachel in my membership group on the topic of Sacred Activism.

Sacred Activism is taking a heart-centered, resilient approach to unpacking privilege, systemic racism and racial injustice. For women of color, it’s all about self-care, prioritizing yourself, getting support and dismantling internalized oppression. For white women, it’s about looking at our own roles in perpetuating white supremacy and educate ourselves to be less harmful. As we collectively confront these issues, we need to revisit our relationships to grief, family trauma, societal trauma, and privilege. We need to examine how our disconnection serves white supremacy.

I invite you to watch my interview with Rachel Ricketts on Sacred Activism.

I’m calling on all white women to learn from Rachel and take her courses.

 

Especially all white women who facilitate women’s spaces, such as coaches, healers, teachers, and leaders. Imagine if the “empowerment industry” collectively gathered together to commit to doing their anti-racism work, place women of color at the center and amplify their voices? Imagine how our world would shift. We can’t wait for this. The time is now. Are you with me? Click here to learn more about Rachel and the work she offers.

Here are my favorite books on Anti-Racism:

 

Here is a list of women I consider my teachers on anti-racism work.

Please follow them, learn from them, and purchase their courses.

If you are a white woman, I invite you to step into this work now.

This is OUR WORK to do.

It will not be easy. I am not perfect and I make mistakes with this all the time. We need to go beyond defensiveness and into EMPATHY that informs righteous action. Part of the journey is learning how to be uncomfortable, make mistakes and keep learning. We cannot remain paralyzed by shame and guilt. We can do this!

It is part of claiming our humanity back from the legacy of white supremacist hetero-patriarchy and doing the inner work our foremothers did not do.

Thank you for being on this journey with me!

 

Photo Credit: Heather Mount via Unsplash