Be a point of light

“You can be a point of light in this and nobody will know,

except things will change.”

John Amaechi

If you are white, I hope this post makes you uncomfortable as it does for me to reflect on what it teaches us.

It is time for white people to lead change against racism. Change. Change only comes through having an open mindset. Change only happens through being willing to get uncomfortable.

Change starts with awareness, and awareness can only happen when we are willing to be open and uncomfortable. When we choose to do all of this, only then can we become more aware of our own racist biases and of those people around us, particularly those close to us.

So, what can each of us actually do? It is not enough to be uncomfortable for a few days, it is way past time to act. The quote above is one of numerous powerful ones from John Amaechi in an interview yesterday. John is the voice that resonates with me more than any other right now, he speaks to me as to what I can get uncomfortable with as a white person, what I can be aware of, then what actions I can choose to take, consistently, to play my part in changing this deep-seated and systemic cancer in our society.

I’ve shared both parts of the interview below and also transcribed two sections giving tangible…