From All Lives Matter to Black Lives Matter: A 15 Day Reflection

Hi. My name is Bekah. 

I was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and now I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I am a 29 year old white woman, married to a white man, with 2 white children. I grew up Republican, Christian (non denominational and evangelical), and middle-class. I believed Barack Obama was born in Kenya. I voted for Mitt Romney in 2012. I told the only Black professor I had: “I’m not going to apologize for the Civil War. It’s not like I was alive.”

I tell you these things because I used to be an “All Lives Matter” person. And then, over time, I started to see why I actually could no longer be one. My hope with these daily exercises is to promote some critical thinking questions that supported and guided my journey to better understanding “Black Lives Matter”.

Have you seen friends or family members post things on social media or see neighbors with signs in their yard and you think, “Really? That person?” is a “Black Lives Matter” supporter? Why? or “Oh brother, not him too!” Maybe you would like to understand the “Black Lives Matter” movement more, but for a variety of reasons, it doesn’t really mesh with your belief system or understanding of culture. If you can commit 10 minutes of thinking about race over the next 15 days, my hope is that your own reflection will help you journey towards supporting the phrase & the movement.

I strongly encourage you to find a partner to connect with as you go through this work, but you can definitely do it alone too. When something comes up for you that challenges your thinking, lean into it. Notice if your body gets more tense or if you want to roll your eyes or sigh. You can and probably will do some of these actions while you work your way through these reflections, and that is okay. But name that it is happening and maybe highlight words or phrases that you disagree with initially. These would be good phrases to talk with a partner about to try to research why they are upsetting. All feelings are valid.

Want to join the journey?

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