Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad – 2020
Originally as a set of challenges posted on Instagram in 2018 across 28 days, the 2020 published book serves the same purpose in providing a roadmap to challenge personal values and beliefs and provide the tools to combat racism.
Layla Saad is an author, speaker & teacher on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation & social change. She has over 700,000 Instagram followers, has posted more than 3000 times and had 100,000 downloads of the challenge in under six months, impressive numbers.
The book uses a combination of short powerful messages to deconstruct and rebuild beliefs that start to equip the individual with the knowledge to make a positive difference to racial equality. Journaling is core to this course and expect to take an hour each day answering questions that are not always comfortable. There is a comprehensive section on completing the course as a group that I would thoroughly recommend.
Listen, Follow and Do the Work without Reward I took away as key personal messages.
I am a white Professional Garden Photographer based in the UK and this is my initial pledge on allyship using Amelie Lamont’s wise words from her published guide.
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Take on the struggle as your own.
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Transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it.
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Amplify voices of the oppressed before your own.
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Acknowledge that even though you feel pain, the conversation is not about you.
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Stand up, even when you feel scared.
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Own your mistakes and de-centre yourself.
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Understand that your education is up to you and no one else.
Feel free to tap me on the shoulder when our paths cross and ask for a progress update.
I’ll finish with a quote, that having delivered project change for many years rang very true.
“There is no social change fairy. There is only change made by the hand of individuals”.
Winona LaDuke
http://laylafsaad.com/meandwhitesupremacy
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Me-White-Supremacy-Combat-Ancestor/