12 New Year Commitments for Anti-Racist White People
When we launched our online Anti-Racism for White People with 60 leaders enrolled in January 2019, I didn’t know what to expect. I worried I didn’t have enough to offer, I worried the group wouldn’t connect or open up to one another, I worried we’d get stuck in defensiveness or fear.
Instead, holding the space for this community has been one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had in 2019. I’ve witnessed a curiosity, humility, community, and drive for learning and action that exceeded all my expectations. I’ve learned with and through this community, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Over the course of the year, we explored how internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and systemic racism and white supremacy show up in our lives. Each month, we reflected and planned an action step for the coming month.
At the end of the course, each participant created actionable new-year commitments for 2020.
I share here 12 of the commitments made by members of this group, as well as some links for resources to learn more, in hopes in might inspire you to infuse anti-racism into your 2020 commitments:
I will learn more about the construction of whiteness.
I will read at least 12 books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color) authors or books focused on anti-racism.
I will integrate anti-racism concepts and questions into everyday conversations.
I will practice calling in. I will make amends when I mess up.
I will decline to speak on or organize panels that are solely comprised of white people.
I will seek majority advisors of color (for my Board, advisory groups, mentors). When hiring, I will only move forward with interviewing when there are BIPOC in the pool of candidates advancing.
I will revamp our workplace policies and standards to embrace liberatory culture vs. a white supremacy culture.
As our organization takes on strategic planning, I will infuse racial equity principles in every part of what we do (powerful example here), rather than as an add-on strategy. I will name anti-racism as the “why” behind intentional shifts we make.
I will include land acknowledgements of indigenous communities when opening meetings and events.
I will explore how to return land I currently own to native people in the future.
I will double the percentage of my personal or organizational budget invested in BIPOC (contracts, vendors, grants, personal giving, etc.), recognizing that my budget is a moral document.
I will advocate for at least one policy change at the local, state, or federal level that furthers anti-racism.
Here’s to a 2020 of reflection, learning, and action toward an anti-racist future.
