Why I cannot stay silent any longer…

I was scrolling through a Facebook group and saw this question posted:

Why have so many white people been silent about the racism that’s been happening for so long in our world?

I read through hundreds of replies. Some respectful, some defensive, some downright hateful towards each other. And then took a deep breath and wrote this response, from my singular perspective:

At the most basic level, regardless of skin color, every person is biologically wired to keep themselves and those they are bonded to, safe. In a collective culture, that often means trying to blend in, sometimes letting things slide or being quiet because you don’t want the bullseye directed at you.

I’ve honestly been in this place multiple times in my life, it sucks to be in a position to have to weigh your safety and well-being over another’s. I’ve also stepped up multiple times to advocate for what’s right, even at great risk to myself. Those times felt more in integrity, but also scary.

I was a young college student when I called the police because my 50-year-old neighbor was selling drugs to teenage girls. He broke several windows in my car and spray painted the word snitch on the sidewalk in front of my home. I was so scared I quickly moved out.

I was fired from a job for speaking up on behalf of the low-income workers to an owner who wanted to cut their pay and benefits. I handed out paychecks and knew almost all of them lived below the financial…