Welcome, etc

Hello. It's me, Anna. I assume you are here because you know me and you are interested in talking about racism - or, more accurately, to hear (read?!) what I have to say about racism. I am thrilled because a) I love reading on principle, b) when we read things we have more time to process than we do in real-time conversation (sometimes) and c) I am flattered that you think what I have to say is important!

Before my head gets too big, I want us all to remember a few things. First, I am an interracial adoptee raised almost exclusively by white people. I experience racism on the regular, but I "think white" and "talk white". I am also east Asian, and have never faced life-threatening racism. My experiences are real, so I don't appreciate being told that I'm not a real person of color. However, I want to acknowledge that I do not experience the worst that America has to offer. And I want to acknowledge that my words as an Asian American woman often perceived as less threatening than the words of any Black/African American person. So while I'm happy that you're here, I want to be clear that racism against Black folks is one of the biggest crises in the nation in part because we have not been listening to them for the last couple of centuries. So if you only have a limited amount of time, I hope you are spending it reading literature/media put out by Black folks and not this blog!

Additionally, I am writing this with the assumption that most of my audience will be from my white Quaker community. You are my safe microcosom of society that seems most ready to engage in anti-racism work. I am fine with you sharing things that seem applicable; it's the internet! But I know that some people are so atheist that they will get upset that I talk about God. This is fine; we all have our own motivations for being good humans in society. However... well, you have been warned.

And if you're also a person of color, please engage in whatever capacity works for you! This is meant to be educational for white people, though, so if this is an issue you are also free to abandon ship.

My hope is that I contribute to the inner dismantling of white supremacy. Social and political actions are sorely needed (more on police abolition later) but I am here to prompt conversations that address the former. I don't exactly know what direction this will take - I guess that depends on who ends up following me! - but stay tuned for more of my experiences, thoughts,. Feel free to leave questions or comments; I can't promise I'll answer everything (don't all comment at once, now) but I would be very happy to know I'm not just screaming into a void. As if we do anything else on the internet. Anyways, here's to dismantling the #*&@! out of white supremacy!

-Anna