We are back home after a fun glamping getaway at the Vintages Trailer Resort. I couldn’t believe how cute this place was. It’s a great option for getting out of town, but remaining physically distant from others. A big thank you to the Vintages for hosting us! I definitely want to go back!
On our trip we had time to watch two (!!) movies! Brittany Runs a Marathon and Straight Up. I highly recommend both.
I just ordered these high waisted jean shorts and I’m hoping they live up to their super soft description.
This subtle rainbow linen set looks like summer in an outfit.
Swooning over this casual-chic summer outfit.
Nisolo is having a big sale right now, and one of my favorite pairs of shoes is $27 off!
I am continuing my ongoing journey of learning to be antiracist, but I’ve slowed down quite a bit on my social media sharing. I’ve found that all of this requires a lot of processing, and jumping ahead of that feels a bit like virtue signaling for me, and that’s something I don’t want to do. I am still making my way through White Fragility right now, and I highly recommend it. I know some people don’t like it because it’s written by a white person, but I find that doesn’t bother me. In some instances it helps because the author is approaching the topics from a world view I can relate to.
I recently listened to Brené Brown’s interview with Austin Channing Brown and I found so many ah-ha moments in that podcast, particularly when Austin described antiracist work as actively learning how to be a better human to other humans (paraphrase).
Have you guys heard of the film “For They Know Not What They Do”? It’s a look at religion, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity in America. It came highly recommended from a close friend and I think Mr. Seasons and I are going to watch it tonight. ($10 for a virtual screening pass)
I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
Hi! Long time reader here! I very much appreciate you committing to anti-racist learning and promotion in the long term given your platform. I did just want to say that the wording of this section really bothered me: “I know some people don’t like it because it’s written by a white person, but I find that doesn’t bother me. In some instances it helps because the author is approaching the topics from a world view I can relate to.” It’s not surprising that it doesn’t bother you that White Fragility is written by a white person– but it should. Instead of leaning on the view of the white woman who wrote White Fragility, we should be taking the time to empathize with the experience of black people and, more importantly, to amplify their work. Louiza Doran does a great job of explaining the problems with White Fragility here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBhVI5xnhzi/. I don’t mean this to call you out at all– this is a journey and I think it’s important we all push each other.
Hi Kate, thanks for the feedback and the gentle push. You’re totally right. This is definitely one book of many that I will be reading.
What I think we need to acknowledge though is that a lot of Black people argue for white people to educate themselves, teach each other, and deal with the problem of racism. White Fragility is a white person teaching other white people about racism. It shouldn’t be the only book (or even the first book) any white person reasons about racism, but I can see why it may be a stepping stone for a lot of people.
I find it troublesome that we have this push-pull approach to racism where white people are told to educate each other and themselves without leaning so much on Black people to educate them… and then yelled at, “no, not like that!” Can you see how a lot of white people may be frustrated and confused by these messages? ‘Educate yourself, don’t rely on Black people to teach you, read books – but not that one.’ Not all Black people feel the same way as Louiza Doran and we have to be careful of viewing Black individuals as monoliths when looking for opinions.
The important thing is we’re educating ourselves and doing the work.
Of course Black people aren’t a monolith, so there are different opinions everywhere, but I think there’s a difference between asking every Black person you know to educate you whenever you feel like it and learning from Black anti-racist educators and paying them for that work. Generally that’s the distinction that’s being made when Black people say stop making us do all the work for you. And there’s also the fact that lots of work already exists so one can go do lots and lots of reading before ever having to actually ask anybody anything. But there is more to the conversation about why White Fragility is problematic and I highly recommend watching that linked video above. One of the things is that white supremacy causes trauma to both White and Black people and White people’s defensive reactions are actually a trauma response so if you don’t deal with that trauma on a body level and only approach it intellectually, you will keep perpetuating the same harmful patterns. I always highly recommend the book My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. He’s a therapist and he actually talks to both White and Black people about how each has been traumatized in different ways and how to heal that trauma/de-program from our white supremacist thinking so we stop these cycles of trauma that our ancestors have been living out for centuries.
Hi! biracial follower and also a longtime reader here! I want to echo Kate’s sentiments above. Reading “White Fragility” is a step in the right direction; that said, it’s critical to learn from Black and POC anti-racist educators, and to push ourselves past the natural inclination to only learn from educators who remind us of ourselves, even when it’s uncomfortable. “How to Be Anti-Racist” was so illuminating for me about the different manifestations of racism, and “Between the World and Me” and “Just Mercy” also offer such personal, heart-wrenching accounts of the impact of systemic racism. “So you want to talk about race” is next on my personal list. Thank you for keeping this conversation going on your platform and continuing to learn!
Hi Leah, I agree wholeheartedly! I think it’s important to learn from all the sources we can. I’m so thankful that there are an abundance of books, movies and podcasts on the topic. I am reading I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown next, and How to Be Anti-racist is my next after that! I think I will read Stamped from the Beginning too. Thank you for sharing what you’ve been reading and watching.