2020 has been a year no one could have predicted or dreamed up. We are still in the midst of a global pandemic, and now we face the uprising of a movement, #BlackLivesMatter. Black people in this country are rightfully angry and they are hurt, and they need our help.
This has been weighing so heavy on my heart ever since witnessing the death of George Floyd with the rest of the world. I cannot believe that we as a nation have been standing idly by, letting injustices like this happen for years, for CENTURIES. And yet, what hurts the most is that even though I have never thought of myself as racist, have always loved and accepted everyone for who they are and never by the color of their skin — that was never enough. I was part of the problem. I was complicit. I was ignorant. I thought that I faced my own fair share of racism being a person of color and that was enough to empathize with the black community. In my world, I was doing fine. But now I’m learning that’s not the case. And now as I write, the one thing that screams loudest in my heart is that this isn’t about me.
I started this blog as a way to express myself and share every part of my life. But the heaviness of the current events immediately confused me to the point of not knowing what to say, and most of all, instilled the fear of saying the wrong thing. As a Filipino American, I thought, what insight would I even have to offer? But then again… this isn’t about me. I shouldn’t fear what others will think of what I will say, but rather care to say what I know in my heart is the right thing. And that is to stand up for Black lives, because THEY MATTER. Because they haven’t for so long, for far too long. And we need to be their ally in order for there to be real change. We can’t be an ally simply by thinking and without doing the work. Just like faith, what good is it without deeds? And we can’t just wait for others to do the work for us. Black people have been fighting this fight alone all these years with no success. When we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Civil Rights Movement opening the door to immigrants. So it’s time for us to do what we can for them.
So what am I doing to be an ally? Listening. Learning. And starting at home.
The first thing and foremost thing I think of is my most precious role I have in this life: being a mother. I don’t want my children to live in a world of systemic racism. Most of all, I want them to be so much better than I am. I want them to be educated and be consciously accepting of people of all colors and to honor those different than them. So for their tender age of 0-3, I have vowed to be devoted to inclusive play. I have begun and will continue to purchase books featuring main characters of color. I’ve also begun to buy them dolls that represent them and other skin tones as well. And as they grow older, I promise to be open with them about the history of racism, teach them with anti-racist ideals and tell them that with that mindset, they can change the world for the better.
Next for my family, we are passionate about supporting local businesses. It has been so amazing to see the lists of black businesses being shared throughout our community on social media, and we are making our rounds to support as many as we can from now on.
There are also many big and small businesses who have committed to match our purchases with donations to great BLM causes. Sephora + Gathre are two companies who I have personally used to donate so far. I’m continuing to seek out my favorite businesses and what they are doing to support this movement, so that I know I’m only supporting businesses who are on the right side of humanity.
Lastly, and most importantly, I will not stop trying to be better. I’ll say this again: this is not about me.. But we need to take control of the things we can and that simply is me and my own actions. Whether it be to sign petitions, vote, donate, continue to educate myself, keep posting on social media, even long after this stops trending. Have uncomfortable conversations, and call out any racism I hear even if it’s my family. And not stopping until we live in a world free of social injustice. This also means that I will not pass judgement or make assumptions about the intentions of what others are doing or not doing. Always be kind. This is the only way we can inspire change for the better. Never by force. But always with grace.
I’d love to hear what others are feeling and doing about the BLM movement. I cannot wait to help make this world a better place for my children and theirs and so on.
“Be the change you want to see in the world”
