A Whole Website?

Welcome! If you are reading this, you have successfully navigated my site! Having never done this before, I knew this would be taking a leap to build this from scratch. By no means is it perfect, I will still be updating this site continuously in hopes we can develop a space for honest discussion surrounding racial literacy and fluency. Around the site there will be many resources for you to read and digest with the hope you can think critically about how this applies to you and your community, wherever you are.

I made this site with my White colleagues and friends in mind. “Where should I start?” is a loaded question to ask a Black person, largely because it heavily depends on how uncomfortable are you willing to get. Should we begin with the history of race in the United States and work towards the now? Or would you rather start with our most recent tragic event (George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor) and think about how we got there? Do you have friends that constantly spout dogwhistles and need to know how to handle them? Do you know what a dogwhistle is? Are you just looking to assess your own privileges and how to best utilize them? There are so many more questions I could ask when being questioned on the best origin. I want to alleviate the stress around having a Black or Brown person lead you through a conversation about race and allow you to take ownership of your own path. That does not mean eventually you will lead Black people into battle and they will follow you because you are now aware of your privilege (White Saviorism is a thing we will discuss at a later date). I want to empower you to explore the readings and ask questions and be okay to be vulnerable in non-White spaces.

If done properly, The Work will become fluid. You will have a toolkit customized for you to be able to address that racist family member at a dinner, the common poster on Facebook that falls into constant willful ignorance, or even just evaluating the racial makeup of your neighborhood and why it has become that way. My main intention is to teach and as someone that teaches little ones every day, I know the importance of building one’s confidence little by little. I do not want this space to be overly formal, I want us to keep the spirit of curiosity as we navigate these spaces, however I do want to make sure we are keeping ourselves honest in understanding there is plenty to get done. We need action now more than ever.

That is The Work. Welcome.

-Derek