Pro-Black Doesn’t Mean Anti-White

I am feeling the unfairness of the world…
And I feel the heaviness of those who don’t see the equal-ness of humans.

How are you feeling about the racial injustice that’s still happening… since before we were even born?

First, thank you, truly, for being part of my community, for trusting me to be apart of your life experience and journey through self-development, whatever your skin colour, belief system, ethnicity, gender or background is.

But this is about stopping racism against black people, because “pro-black doesn’t mean anti-white” (I don’t know who said this but I didn’t invent it, so kudos to whomever said it first).

Writer Scott Woods has said: 

“Racism is an insidious cultural disease.[…] So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world.”

It’s only in the last few years of my life that I started understanding what it meant to have privilege as a white yoga teacher (because before then, it was similar to Scott’s example of “being born into air”).

I started reading about social justice, white supremacy and anti-racism because, thanks to one of my mentors Sianna Sherman, founder of Rasa Yoga, I realized that the majority of my yoga students were white…

I also came to understand that it was just my life…

> to not be racially judged by my white neighbours;
> or to not feel a disconnect with my white yoga teacher;
> or to not be stopped and questioned for no reason by white police officers in my calm neighbourhood…
…without really remembering that black women’s lives were different than mine.

I know it’s part of many people’s lives, to live that differentiation, to experience feeling different and lesser than because of the colour of their skin.

Any unfairness in the world gets to me, and this one is between humans > the ONLY right & left brain-smart, future planning and action-taking beings on the planet.

Even as a woman, yes white (but I don’t think it matters in this example), I still have felt verbally harassed by men if I wore a tank top, have been looked down at when I was emotional, or diminished and afraid to walk to a store alone at night at times for fear of being raped…

What I truly believe is that we all experience life in this world with the same air, as humans… with a heart.

The same type of heart muscle.

My heart knows that there is no difference between a person who has black, fair, white, olive, tan, brown and white skin.

My heart knows there IS a difference between hate and love, between fear and trust, between choice and force, between calm and angry…

I choose to see this time to rise as a human with a heart, as a woman with compassion and empathy, as a spirit that knows it is ONE with all…

I choose to show up in this world in support of all black people because I will never know what it is to not be white…

🖤 Here are ways to show support 🖤

>> Say something if you witness racist actions and educate your children so racism doesn’t continue

>> Here’s a video that can shed light on ways you can help Black Lives Matter if you feel pulled to it.

>> Be okay with how you choose to respond to this.

🖤 Here are other ways you can educate yourself on anti-racism 🖤

> Anti-Racism for beginners
> Read Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love And Liberation book by Re. Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens with Jasmine Syedullah, Phd 
> Read Michelle C. Johnson’s Skill in Action: Yoga + Social Justice book
> Helpful article that is FULL of resources, Anti-Racist Actions You Can Take Today
> I’m just starting to listen to The Kinswomen podcast, which shares a series of candid conversations on race, racism, and allyship between women and if you’re interested, they’re doing an Allyship in Action course. Click here to see what it’s about.

🖤 Here are organizations you can donate to 🖤

• National Bail Fund
• I Run With Maud
• Color of Change
• NAACP “We Are Done Dying” Campaign
• Black Lives Matter

In the hopes of bringing this message as an eye-opening opportunity to turn our action inwards and outwards with the force of being HUMAN.

Remember that everyone’s dharma is different and that, you don’t have to be a social justice activist if that’s not your calling… Whatever you say and do, if it’s based out of love 🖤, it has its place and should not be silenced.

With insight and love,
Claudia-Sam

P.S. I will be sharing Conversations for Human Connection soon, an interview series between me and black women of my community to shed light on how we can connect from the heart and dis-identify from the colour of our skin and access depths of our souls, together. To access my all-women #soulconnector driven community on Facebook, go here. 🥰

PP.S. If you’re like, who are you Claudia-Sam, go here to learn more about me.