Join us on Monday, June 1st at 8pm Eastern for “Racism-20 during Covid-19”: An Open Forum
RSVP here : https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
If you’re questioning, doubting, or debating whether you are welcome / should participate in today’s experience, you are not alone.
Over the past few days, a number questions came up surfacing doubts about whether an individual should participate in a conversation around racism at this time.
If you’re debating joining today’s Racism-20 during Covid-19: An Open Forum…
1) You are not alone
2) That is one of the reasons you should come.
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re debating if you should invite your friends/communities because you’re not Black or not American..
1) You are not alone
2) That is one of the reasons you should invite them
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re thinking “It’s not my place / It’s not my issue to talk about”…
1) You are not alone
2) Your voice is important; your viewpoint is important; your visibility is important; your presence is important. Racism is all of our issue – and if we’re being silenced around it, then who does that serve?
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re thinking “Is it even helpful to talk about it? Will conversation actually change anything?”
1) You are not alone
2) We are all on our individual journey of taking on injustice, though we choose to do it together.
For some, this will be the first time they are hearing new perspectives.
For others, the first time they are sharing their lived experiences.
And for others, they’ll realize they’re done talking and want to take their own aligned action.
Even if this helps only 1 person activate their impact even just .0001%, it will be worth it.
Come for what you want. Leave with what you need.
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re thinking “does my experience even matter / are my thoughts/feelings even relevant”?…
1) You are not alone
2) While I have an answer for this, this is something that only you can discover by taking the risk to find out.
(hint: you wouldn’t be asking yourself this question if there wasn’t something you had to offer)
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re debating , “It would seem like I’m being insensitive or ignoring the issue if I participated / shared my thoughts”…
1) You are not alone
2) We live in a socially connected, globally-connected world. What affects one of us, affects all of us.
Trust that you’ll be in a space where we will hear our story through your story.
Trust that you being you and being real is something universal that can impact 1 person during that conversation – even and especially if that person is you.
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re questioning, “Am I the only one who feels this way/ sees things this way/ ______”….
1) You are not alone.
2) I know this for a fact, because each of these questions are questions I’ve been wrestling through myself.
I question whether my experience matters – living as a black man in Singapore, safely away (actually both safe and away) from the daily latent fear of being a Black person in America
I question whether a conversation will even change anything. And I’m resolute in knowing that for me, at this time, creating space for difficult conversations amongst strangers and community is my vehicle of change.
I question whether I’m being insensitive to the pains / creating a “safe enough space”, by making the topic about Racism and not just inviting, but welcoming global particpants and non-black participants.
(What I don’t want you to know about me is that I question whether I even know enough black people for this and whether I am the person to hold space us all.
I don’t enjoy writing this, but I cannot let these insecurities hold me back from serving in the world.)
I question, I doubt, and I debate myself throughout all this.
That’s one of the reasons that I feel so passionately about being in this space with you.
Because I know that I am not alone. What I feel, You feel. And together, we can make a change – even if it’s just by .0001% for just one person.
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Join us on Monday, June 1st at 8pm Eastern for “Racism-20 during Covid-19”: An Open Forum
RSVP here : https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
Please share this experience with ANYONE else you feel will be served by sharing, voicing, and/or witnessing lived experiences together.
I love you all
~Niiamah
