#21dayantiracistchallenge
Day 2 Prompt- JOURNAL ENTRY
Think of your loved one(children, spouse, etc)-whom you love more than anything
else in the world and think of a statement you would say to that person to
describe that at any point in time they could go missing or be killed because
of racism.
Next paragraph, after hearing Mehcad's story about what he witnessed at 12 years old, explain to him(a 12 year old) that this is what
happens to black men.
We have to be safe, we have to be smart, and we have to
always ALWAYS look out for one another. How you deal with certain people might
mean the difference between coming home to me safe, or not coming home at all. Baby
boy, you are my everything. I don’t ever want to lose you. So we have to stay
alert and never let our guard down. There are bad people in this world who will
want to harm you for no good reason at all. //
This is one of many
reasons why you as a black man have to be on guard ALL the time. Some people
are out for blood and they will get it, without any repercussions. Until
everyone and I mean EVERYONE is seen as equal across the board, then this and
many things like it will continue to happen. People are blinded by unconscious bias,
so they don’t always think what they are doing is wrong, but you know. You know
in your heart that this is wrong. All you can do is be on your guard and be
smart about what you say or do.
Day 3 Prompt –JOURNAL ENTRY
Imagine you have a black child and be
specific about what you would say to them in ‘The Talk’—The talk that every
black family has to have with their loved ones about how to protect themselves
by police, to make sure they stay safe and alive. If you're brave enough, post this to your feed/Story.
Day 4 Prompt–JOURNAL ENTRY
Write down every time that you can remember
that you had that ‘policing mentality’-any time you policed someone’s tone, their
presence, their proximity to yourself or someone else you love, their speech,
thought process, etc (by 'policing mentality'…this could mean anything from getting bored of
what they have to say, to moving to the other side of the street or clutching
your purse tightly, etc). If it minimized their freedom in ANY way (even if you
just thought it), write it down.
Then, Draw a circle next to your list with your initials inside it. Anytime
one of those assumptions were PROVEN right (you clutched your purse tighter
because YES that person WAS going to steal your purse, etc) draw a line from
that point, cross the line, into the circle. This is your Inherent Racial bias.
Every time one of the assumptions could NOT be proved….These are missed opportunities/relationships/interactions you could
have had if it weren’t for your racial bias.
·
Day 5 Prompt
Loving. Intelligent. Athletic. Truthful. Patient. Dishonest. Guilty. Toxic. Transcendent.
Next to each one of these attributes, write down the group of people you think is best suited to that word. Then make your own list of 5-7 words, and write down the group of people that best describe those new attributes, examining any bias you may have had in the first part.
Loving - Family
Intelligent –Scholars
Athletic –Young Men
Truthful – Kids
Patient – Childminders/ People who work with kids/Mothers
Dishonest – Government officials/Politicians/lawmakers/lawyers
Guilty – Criminals
Toxic – Narcissists
Transcendent – Yoginis/Wanderers/Travelers
My Words:
Giving— Humanitarians/Those who care for Community
Friendly – Children
Trustworthy— People who are transparent
Intuitive – Empaths
Vain— Social Media Influencers
Hostile – People who know they are in the wrong, but carry
on
Pessimistic – Those with low self confidence
Day 6 Prompt—JOURNAL ENTRY
Write down your
feelings about ‘The Doll Test’ after watching the 5-10 min video. Then, make a
1-4 minute video of your own explaining how you felt while watching it and also what we can do
to help heal that bias in society.
It was upsetting to watch. It makes me sad that these children
have this preconceived notion in their head about certain people. I’m disturbed at how traits like ‘nice’
or ‘mean’ or ‘smart’ are pointed out based on a doll’s appearance.
Day 10 Prompt
Hand write a letter to yourself, to your ancestors, to society and set forth new
agreements with the collective consciousness.
Day 11 Prompt
Write
down 6 positive words to describe America. Look up a moment from black
history-The Tulsa Massacre and do as much research/learning on the event as you want. At the very least, read what it was and what generally happened there. Then write three words to describe the Tulsa
Massacre.
SIX POSITIVE WORDS TO DESCRIBE AMERICA:
Vast.
New.
Opportunistic.
Free.
Outspoken.
Passionate.
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE TULSA MASSACRE:
Tragic.
Brutal.
Miscommunicative.
