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Hi All -

I started writing this last Monday when I wanted to address the mass shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people, the majority of whom were Asian women. I wanted to say for all of us that we are rightfully appalled by these hate crimes, and that we stand with the Asian American community in their grief. I wrote that while we wish comfort to those who have lost loved ones, our compassion is not enough. We at Goodwill will continue to stand against racism, discrimination, hate, or violence toward any member of our community. We will actively work against systemic challenges that include racism, discrimination, and other long-term social injustices.

And then another mass shooting happened before I could get this out. I haven’t yet read that we understand motive, but it made me pause again before sending.

Discrimination toward Asian Americans is not new, but our country has seen a disturbing increase in violence against Asian Americans in the last year. The murders in Atlanta are the latest and worst of a rising tide of hatred that is another result of white supremacy in this country. I can’t yet speak to the murders in Boulder.

I have been told that by calling out racism and using terms like white supremacy, I have made some of you uncomfortable. I think this is pretty normal, especially if you haven’t ever had easy dialogue about the realities people of color face in the U.S. For many of us, the term white supremacy conjures up images of white hoods and burning crosses, and we may think that because this is now relatively rare, that white supremacy no longer exists. That image is really just the most obvious manifestation of the reality that our society is deeply and unequally divided by race and that white people are the beneficiaries of that inequality. It is startling and disturbing to begin to realize that our friends, neighbors and colleagues of color don’t experience the world as we do. Because we benefit from the injustice in the system, white people generally don’t experience much racial stress, and because we don’t experience that stress, we then also feel like we are deserving of the advantage that society gives us as a result of racial inequality. This advantage doesn’t mean your life has been easy. It just means that race hasn’t been a thing that has made it harder. When someone raises the issue of racial inequity, it challenges the way we may see the world, disrupting everything we think about ourselves and the way things are. We may get defensive and may want to do everything we can to deny that racism exists so that we can go back to feeling safe and like we know how things are. As white people, we don’t have much tolerance for the discomfort of having our experience of reality challenged, and this is what has been termed “white fragility.”

An example of that fragility can be that we feel worried that there is no longer a place for us in an environment that is working to correct inequities. Responding in ways that are indicative of this fragility – by being defensive, avoidant, or by removing ourselves entirely – additionally creates a barrier to understanding inequality. But this focus on being anti-racist doesn’t make people who are white less than they were, it just attempts to eliminate bias that hasn’t made the playing field level for people of color. Your value in the world isn’t diminished when someone else’s is raised.

Some of you may also be feeling anxiety you haven’t felt before, the anxiety of being afraid of saying the wrong thing and that it could cost you in some way.  Perhaps you are concerned you might actually say or do something racist, even if unintentionally. The likelihood that each of us will is pretty good, not because we are a bad people, but because we grew up here breathing the air that instills this bias. We all have to actively work against it because in many cases we don’t consciously know we have bias. Making a mistake and recognizing our underlying biases creates an opportunity to learn and to grow and to be better, and if that is truly your desire and you actively take steps to do so, then there will always be a place for you here at Goodwill. Always. We are here to help people to be the best that they can be so that in their lives they will experience self-sufficiency, pride, and joy in what they can accomplish. It is no different for any of the rest of us. We are the embodiment of our vision, mission, and values.

We are on this journey together. It has to be remarkably difficult sometimes for people of color to have any patience with our learning curve, because damage continues to be done while we are figuring it out. It’s untenable, and yet we still have to do the work as well and as quickly as we can. Our support of each other is critical.

My best to every one of you, with special love today for those of you in the Asian American community. We see your pain and stand with you in solidarity.

Jeanette