Rarely do I speak negatively about my childhood here. It’s not that I don’t believe in being honest and transparent, I’ve just tried to create a positive, encouraging outlet. And that is what Fashionably Kate & Co. is about – a safe, positive space with no room for homophobia, racism or any other intolerable remarks. But after the death of George Floyd, and several other black people, I was shocked to see a few comments online explaining the murderers’ behaviors based on their upbringing.
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.
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[…] As steam has been building behind the Black Lives Matter movement following the deaths of George Lloyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, among so many others, I’ve been reading, researching and listening to stories of racism and inequality. Of course I learned about slavery and the Civil Rights Movement in school, but as a white woman I’ve never understood how deeply this is rooted in our culture. I’ve been working on Michelle Obama’s Becoming and I have a few books on the way from Amazon that I’m looking forward to reading to try and understand how I can be a better ally. […]