A call to move our hearts and minds to bring peace and healing for each person who was senselessly killed in Buffalo on May 14, 2022.
May 17th marked the 68th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education case that unanimously ruled that segregation in public education was unconstitutional. This, of course, sparked a massive resistance among white Americans committed to an ideology of racial caste and white supremacy, the ideology that stoked the recent attack in Buffalo.
It's taken me a full week to formulate a response to the horror we all witnessed against Buffalo's Black community. For the past decade, many of my white and non-Black students have expressed a hope in future generations because "they are growing up in such a diverse world than I grew up in." Unfortunately, the shooter was 18-years old, i.e., born in 2004, which is no different from the shooters in Kenosha or Charleston.
Most Americans know very little about the history of colonization and racial violence, which is not taught in schools, denied by our leaders and media pundits, and avoided by the rest of us.
After deep reflection, I am forced to acknowledge the difficult truth that we cannot prevent such hateful violence against Black and other marginalized bodies without attacking its root cause: ignorance.
Ignorance among Americans about our common humanity. Until such ignorance is transformed among a critical mass of Americans, it will be passed on generationally as it did for the shooter in Buffalo.
If you're feeling distraught and seeking solutions, I invite you to enroll yourself and your team in our Breaking Racial Bias membership community. If cost is an issue, apply for a scholarship. We have worked very hard to make this work accessible to anyone who is committed to this work. The work of healing ourselves and designing innovations that build bridges across the divides at this historic moment.
Like Dr. King, I too have a dream: to build a beloved community - where people can belong everywhere in the fullness of their diversity. This includes you. And all people who want peace, compassion, understanding, and love to be the ethic of our public and private lives.
If you or anyone you know wants a healing space at this difficult moment, register for our next Healing Together community event on Tuesday, May 24th at 12 pm ET.
Please see below a list of additional resources below for anyone who may need extra support in their healing.
In addition to donating and sending prayers of strength to the families of the victims of Buffalo's attacks, as the families have demanded, you will commit to growing and joining the movement for racial equity. I too believe that is only way we can each honor the innocent lives lost to racism every day.
Resources
For understanding the harms of white supremacy
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The Truth about America's Caste System (I appear on episodes 6 & 7 which you can also watch on AppleTV+)
For processing & moving through grief
For practicing mindfulness during a crisis
For breaking bias