Choose Love

I am not black. I am from a primarily white town and went to primarily white schools from preschool to high school. I grew up in a home where my mother embraced everyone no matter their race, religion or who they loved. My father was racist, anti-religion and homophobic. Talk about being on the receiving end of mixed signals. ⠀⠀ 

I’ve seen a lot of people over the years that are violent or discriminatory against those who are different from them be given a pass

“They grew up in a different time when that was acceptable.”⠀

“That’s what they were taught. It’s not their fault.”

Well it’s not acceptable, and it is their fault. ⠀⠀

As a child raised in a house of mixed values, I could have chosen to side with my father and embrace his ideals of hatred and bigotry. But I chose love, acceptance and the belief that we are all equal, which is what my mother taught me. (And by the way, she grew up in a home with the same dynamic in the 50s, 60s and 70s and still always chose love.)⠀⠀

That is what I will teach my little girl in the hopes that she will be part of a generation that sees a stop to the type of violence that ended the lives of George Floyd and so many others. ⠀⠀

So while I may not fully understand what black people are going through, I will always be an ally to those suffering from injustice solely because of the color of their skin. ⠀

No matter who we are, where we grew up, what we were taught or who our parents are, we all have a choice. 

Choose love.

I chose to donate to the NAACP but I have included the link to donate to the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund on this page and The Cut has a great list of other options. Please show your support.

*The featured image was taken in 2018 at the Boston Common.