A message to all White, Straight, Cis 50501 members

Hi folks

I’m writing this in response to another post. As a White American, I ask all other White American folks to hear me out on this, please - I come to you in Peace. My goal is NOT to create division. My goal is to help spread the word and educate my fellow White Americans. This is my duty and I will fulfill it.

We will not succeed in this movement if abled, white, straight, cis folks don’t take a beat and listen to the minority groups involved, and learn. 

To be clear: I do not mean to imply abled, white, straight, cis folks should not be first in line for this movement! We need every person. We all have our own concerns, but one concern is not more important than the other. I’m urging non-minority groups to lean into empathy and expand our understanding of all groups’ concerns and experiences rather than try to shut them down.

This is our time to rally in unity and solidarity. To listen, to learn, to share our learnings with the people of our own in-groups and ask them to join the movement. We will only succeed by doing so, there is no downside to this approach. 

This is not our time to reject minorities or the movement because we don’t feel we’re in the spotlight. Nor is it the time to ask minorities to pander to us, to pretzel their existence around us - if you do, this only continues to uphold the powers that have gotten ALL of us into this mess. 

Don’t feel like you’re being represented? Now you can take time to learn how minority groups feel on a daily basis.

Don’t feel like you’re voice is being heard? Now you can grow your empathy towards others who’ve felt voiceless in their regular lives well before the 2025 inauguration.

Are your ideas getting constructive feedback instead of immediately met with agreement? Hear the feedback and learn from what others are saying, then see how you can apply it to your thinking going forward.

There is power in showing up. There is power in educating your fellow abled, white, straight, cis folks. Power doesn’t only come from being behind the microphone. You don’t have to take lead, you don’t have to insert yourself into leadership positions if others are already doing that work. You can absolutely show up. You can absolutely share ideas and thoughts, but your ideas are not entitled to an elevated status just because of your social privileges, or because you don’t belong to a minority. Be humble.

We all have a place in the movement. There should be no space given to whitewash our messaging or steamroll the momentum, momentum largely built by generations of minorities fighting for their lives every single day, with little to no outpouring of White, Straight, Cis solidarity. 

If you’ve read this and feel personally attacked or offended, please ask yourself why before being reactionary and rejecting my words. Then, please ask yourself: who does it serve if I choose to resent or reject these words?

We as white folk have work to do, within ourselves. This isn’t an accusatory statement nor is it meant to evoke shame or guilt. It’s a hard truth that we need to face with urgency and heart if we ever want to build real, meaningful communities and do anything more than just uphold the same systems that maintain racial hierarchy, patriarchal legacy, sexual and gender rigidity, and deaths of hundreds of millions of real human beings. 

If you’ve gotten this far in my post, I thank you. I also ask that you upvote and comment to show support and acknowledgement of the work we have left to do, especially our able-bodied, white, straight, and cis siblings.

If you’re asking yourself “what work?” or want to learn more or if you think you already “get it,” I highly encourage you to look into Dr. Robin DiAngelo. I will leave one of their lectures here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrOFpaB-PQI 

Again, this is not an opportunity to respond with able-bodied, white, straight, cis-centric views, veiled or otherwise. You are not a victim of this post, my words, or representation of minorities. My hope is that we can embrace the idea of the melting pot our beautiful country is and push the embrace from within out into our communities.

United we stand, divided we fall. It’s our time to show up, educate each other, and help lift the voices of the marginalized above our own because we’ve had the microphone for far too long. 

I welcome civil, thoughtful responses and other educational tools. I of course welcome constructive feedback or other suggestions, but only if your words do not serve the most privileged of us all - I’m not going to tolerate or accept fragility and neither should you. This is your moment to step into the world with a new lens; it’s up to you, and you alone.

All the best. In Love and Solidarity, A White American

EDIT: in an effort to not fuel division, I will not respond to those who disagree with my sentiments. I will speak with my vote. I encourage others to do the same.

EDIT 2: from a constructive comment, I realized I did not included abled folks. I acknowledge that misstep and have corrected it in the post.

EDIT 3: another constructive comment let me know this could have left the impression that non-minority groups shouldn’t be heavily involved in the movement. I’ve attempted to clarify this because we absolutely should be!