I started Meanwhile because my brain needed a break from the barrage of COVID-19 headlines. I wanted to find interesting, light stories to remind us that there were still good things going on in the world.
But—I’m taking a break from Meanwhile starting today. Right now, we’d better be paying attention to the news.
Black Lives Matter, and I’m sorry we’ve let you down. Not once, not twice, but for centuries, over and over and over again, at every possible turn. I have; my friends have; we all have.
I don’t yet know all the things I should be doing, and all the things I will do, but I know one of them is not sending a daily newsletter as a distraction from what’s going on. This is a veryyyy small little platform, but it’s my privilege to have it, and so I’ll use it.
Pay attention. Educate yourselves. Listen to black voices. And most importantly: DO something. Retweeting isn’t enough. As one of the articles below says, “racists are counting on you to continue doing nothing.” DO something.
I found these 3 articles helpful for getting some perspective:
If you're a white person wondering what to do during the George Floyd protests, I have some advice (Michael Crawford)
Okay, white people, here’s what you can do now (Roy S. Johnson)
White America, if you want to know who’s responsible for racism, look in the mirror (Dahleen Glanton)
Right now, there is no “meanwhile.” There is only the truth of what’s happening, and we can acknowledge it and fight it, or we can continue to be complicit.