|
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CALLING OUT...
in the news, on social media, within organizations, and person-to-person. The action and awareness against systemic racism against Black people in America is long overdue, and we are energized by its arrival. We need to hold ourselves, our leaders, and one another accountable.
Many have noticed that there can be a destructive nature to some of the calling out - especially, as Desiree Adaway so beautifully pointed out - 'between White folks (almost always White women)' that 'feels mean spirited...It very rarely looks or feels like it's from a place of care and community.'
Adaway's words resonate with us. They remind us of our commitment to the search for ways to upend experiences that feel disconnected or disempowering - such as applying to or interviewing for a job - and to make them meaningful, constructive, open to positive change and growth. In other words, we like to grapple with the question: how can we make the experience of vulnerability a strengthening one?
This is a particularly poignant question for us as White women confronting our complicity in and engagement with the racism our country was built on, and that we and others continue to profit from. This is a vulnerable, uncomfortable confrontation, and in order to stay in it, as we are called and committed to do, we must find a way to sustain ourselves. We must keep showing up. But we have seen how easily a person can opt out, excusing themselves based on the real but survivable discomfort of fear, shame and uncertainty. This week, Adaway and others have reminded us that doing this work can be an experience of returning to our community in order to connect with those trusted others with whom we commit to sharing ourselves, trying not to harm, and when we do harm, apologizing and working to do better.
So today, in order to call ourselves in, Tay and I are calling ourselves out on the systems of White supremacy that we have observed in ourselves. This is by no means a comprehensive look at how Whiteness impacts our lives, but just one effort, for today, to crack things open and perhaps inspire others to do the same. If you are looking for a place to share your own story, we are listening.
DOR // In reaching out to Black storytellers, I've second-guessed myself around the experience of being the 'benefactor'. I'm uncomfortable with the idea that I'm bestowing an opportunity on someone else, which is another way of avoiding recognition of my own position of power in a system that favors White people like myself. As I examined that discomfort, I realized that it stems from the idea that I am the only one in the situation with something to offer, which is false. When I stand up and say that I have something to give, the other side of that experience is receiving (a point beautifully illuminated by the actor Jelani Alladin in the tidbits below).
TAY // One of the biggest impediments to progress in our small organization is individualism. While I abide by 'small is better', I also unintentionally hide behind that ethos by thinking that it will take too much time and energy to train and / or trust anyone to do something as well as our small team (or I) can do it. By associating my identity so sacredly with GFJ, I horde opportunities from others that could make meaningful contributions not only to our efforts, but to our community at large.
This past week, overt racism (NYT) in the media and publishing industries has been called out. People are banding together to stand up (NYT) and make room for Black voices, talents and expertise. In our own GFJ Stories, we've highlighted more Black and Brown folks in recent years, but our writers and photographers are still predominantly White. As Kim Severson pointed out in the New York Times, "Writers of color and of less-connected backgrounds have often found it difficult to get jobs or get freelance articles accepted." While our platform may not be as large as some publishers', we are committed to sharing the stories of Black food workers. We'll be doing more work on this in the coming years, but if you happen to be reading this today and are a Black storyteller, or know someone who is, please consider stepping up to the GFJ microphone.
In solidarity,
Tay + Dor
Co-Founders, Good Food Jobs
photo by Evan Stevens for GFJ Stories
|
tidbits...
resources on Anti-racism, environmentalism and food culture AKA stuff we're reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday . . .
This Friday is Juneteenth. Sign the petition from Change.org to make it a National Holiday.
"What I’m hoping to impress upon folks is that this work — the work of being an accomplice — might cost you something." Willie L. Jackson II on being an accomplice instead of an ally.
Holiday Phillips shares how you can leave behind performative allyship in favor of meaningful action.
"...librarians have been calling users who are 65 and older, just to say hello." - Elizabeth Harris for the NYTimes, because we still can't get enough of the example libraries set for building community.
Join Fuel the People in their mission to provide food and necessary supplies to protesters on the front lines in DC and NYC.
"If you step in enough to see how deeply rooted issues of oppression and exclusion are, you know and understand the incredible opportunity we each have to talk about intersectionality within each of our lanes." - Diandra Marizet on how social justice connects us.
"A conversation is a talk where news and ideas are exchanged; not looted, not stolen, exchanged, which means to give something and receive something." - Jelani Alladin on Black voices in theatre for the NYTimes.
In New York State, the Kingston Land Trust connects those seeking land with those who have it.
On an island off the coast of Maine, a sheep shearing tradition is maintained.
Thanks to Kennedy Mitchum, the Dictionary definition of racism will receive an overdue update.
got a tidbit? drop it here for us and we'll share it in next week's newsletter.
|
|
|