From “Black Lives Matter” to “I Denounce Racism”
*from the viewpoint of an old white woman
“Black Lives Matter” is a decentralized political and social movement, focused on the racism, inequality and violence experienced by African Americans. It was formed in 2013 by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi after George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The slogan was born of pain and frustration that Black lives do not, in fact, matter for much in this country.
I adopted the slogan for my first sign. I was having trouble walking great distances at the time, so I bought an electric scooter and attached the sign to it.
Alas, a lot of people in my mostly white neighborhood weren’t ready for it. I got a lot of pushback in the form of “all lives matter” and even more ignorant responses. More important was the fact that “Black Lives Matter” was leading people to argue rather than discuss. And I wanted discussion.
I decided I needed an “I statement” - something that made it clear where I stand while (hopefully) inspiring more thoughtful responses. A song by Holly Near sprang to mind: “No More Genocide In My Name.” It was the sentiment I wanted, but a sign needs to be pithy. And it wouldn’t be clear which genocide (sigh) I was referring to.
It took a while to pare it down: I finally decided on “I Denounce Racism.” In three words I managed to say that actions like the despicable “Unite the Right Rally” were not being done in my name. And in addition to giving other non-Black people an opportunity to explore where they stood, it fulfilled a third (and equally important) goal: to let People of Color in the neighborhood know that they were not as outnumbered as they might feel.
It worked beautifully. Here are a few of my favorite experiences inspired by that sign.
The African-American woman across a 5-lane street, who was jogging while pushing her 4-year-old twins in a double stroller. She stopped and pointed me out to her children, and they all waved at me with big smiles. Did the kids understand why their mom was excited, and having them wave at the nice white lady? Probably not. But she did - and they got to see their mom having a positive reaction to something a white person was doing.
The 30-something white man who started with “Blacks are racist, too. I’ve seen a bunch of blacks beating up a white guy for no reason!” “Ah,” I said. “But have you ever seen a mob of hundreds of Black people with guns, marching through the streets chanting ‘Death to Whitey’? And what do you think would happen if they did?” To his credit, he actually stopped and pondered that. Then he pulled a card from his wallet to show me. It said “Be the change you want to see.” “It’s like what you’re doing!” he said.
The many white people, in ones and twos, who stopped to say, “I totally agree with that!”
Would those particular people have agreed with my Black Lives Matter sign? I don’t know. But I do know I got a lot more agreement from a lot more white people with “I Denounce Racism.”
By choosing my words carefully, I got a few more people each day talking…listening… changing…and agreeing. I couldn’t ask for more.
From the Soapbox,
Sandy
