Showing Up Is The Start of the Work

Hello friends,

I was attending an online meeting a while back and someone talked about the importance of showing up. And it occurred to me that it’s a necessary first step in everything we do to end racism.

The second step, of course, is staying, and sitting with any discomfort that arises, and the third step is taking appropriate action.

As I reflected on this, I thought, yet again, about how many people claimed to be showing up for social and racial justice, and for equality, back in 2020. I’m sure you remember it too. The effusive public declarations of solidarity, the “discovery” that no, we weren’t living in a post-racial society, and the black squares (omg the performative black squares!).

A lot of that happened in corporate settings but it also happened in personal ones too. I myself know people who claimed to be all in, but who, when push came to shove, went back to apathy or to racism. I’ve felt the brunt of that too.

For all that, there were people who stuck it out, people who read and learned, who started to question, who shook off their complacency, and kept showing up for more, even when it got uncomfortable, as it inevitably did, and even when it challenged long held and sometime unconscious beliefs. Those are the people that gave me hope, and there are still quite a few of those in my online circles.

A question that’s always worth asking is: what action are you being accountable for? And I’m happy to say that there are people who showed up and stuck around, who began looking for ways to help. Again, this wasn’t about perfection, but about progress - doing something, seeing if it worked, changing direction if it didn’t, but above all, travelling in the direction of anti-racism and equality.

I also see those who have chosen NOT to take action, or who have stepped away - I could even name names, but I won’t. And I wonder, where did that fervour go? Are the rights of people who face isms to an equal world where they can thrive any less important today than four years ago? Are we there yet? (Spoiler alert: we’re nowhere near.)

That’s why it’s so important to keep showing up, keep sticking around and keep taking action. So I hope you’re taking action to undermine and eliminate racism where you are, today and every day. If you care to share, drop a comment and let me know what anti-racism action you’ve taken this week.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

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I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2024. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).