What Can I Do? Seeking Justice as an Introvert.
What can I do?
That's the question churning endlessly through many of our minds.
Last week, I read a tweet from Linsey Levy that said, “Yes, where are the 42 emails from every company I’ve ever done business with telling me how they’re fighting racism.”
I nearly broke my neck while nodding in agreement.
I’m ashamed at how long it took me to realize oh shit, I’m a business and I have a platform.
I’m giving a speech about introvert leadership this week. One that was booked months ago.
When I went back over my materials and past talks, I realized that while the information was good, the context felt… off.
So I rewrote it. I made sure it was COVID and post-COVID applicable. I told new jokes.
Then, on Memorial Day, a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck for almost 9 minutes. He waited until Floyd stopped breathing. He murdered George Floyd—an unarmed Black man—while three other officers looked on and did nothing.
Anger—not over this killing alone but over the fact that this happens with staggering regularity in America—could no longer be contained.
Let me be clear that I know the response to this tragic loss of life has been in no way knee-jerk. It is the inevitable result of 400 years of systemic oppression against, and injustice for, Black people in America.
I sat for days with the truth that my choice not to say something was a direct result of my white privilege. I’ve questioned if silence would make me complicit—but I’m familiar enough with anti-oppression work to know that centering my own experience/voice or virtue signaling (making statements for the purpose of demonstrating your moral correctness rather than furthering a cause) are not helpful, nor are they right.
Ultimately, I decided I needed to say something. And that something is that now is time for white introverts to do what we do best. Listen. Listen. Listen.
Listen. And when it’s time to act—to vote, to protest, to donate, to stand against racism and oppression in all its insidious forms—listen to what Black voices have told us they need and act boldly.
We cannot talk about racism without talking about power. It’s white people’s responsibility to shift that power, to pass the mic, and to elevate the voices and needs of Black people.
I know that I will never truly understand. But I have to try.
I created my company because I looked at the world and I saw a lack of people who listened among the sea of shouting voices. Thoughtful people who considered the effects of actions and decisions over long timelines. People whose brain’s and hearts didn’t light up at the thought of rewards and instant gratification, but instead over the process of making meaning and seeing their contributions have a positive impact. It’s time for these people to step up.
We know introverts can struggle to speak up and be heard. So when Black introverts choose to flex their incredible strengths, it's all the more important for white introverts to support and amplify.
It’s time for bold introverts to lead and help build something better.
I realized that I needed to rewrite the speech again.
So I’m rewriting it to emphasize the role introverts can play in making things better. How we can take the best of what we are and lead with compassion, lift those whose lives depend on us lifting, become accomplices in change in addition to allies.
I am by no means an expert but I also know how it feels to be overwhelmed and not know where to start when it comes to anti-racism. So I’m including a list below of some of the voices I’m listening to.*
I believed the world needed more bold introverts before. I’m certain of it now.
With as much love as is in me,
Angela
Voices:
Ijeoma Oluo and her book “So You Want to Talk About Race”
Ibram X. Kendi and his books “How to Be Anti-Racist” and “Stamped From the Beginning”
Wagatwe Sara Wanjuki
Roxane Gay
Tarana Burke
Anjali Vats
Franchesca Ramsey and MTV’s Decoded
Very Smart Brothas
The Root
*IMPORTANT REMINDER: Please don’t put the burden of this education on your Black friends and family. They are bearing far too much already. There are other resources for our learning.