Black History Month...my first blog of 2021

heyyyy everybody,

I hope you have been doing well...it has been a little while since I last wrote to you.

I won't lie, it was nice to have a little blog time-off. Also, I sort of had to stop blogging for a bit while my website was in the redesign process. Have you seen it!? There are a few things left to complete on there...but so far I am super stoked with how it is coming along.

As we all know, 2021 has only been an extension of 2020 with the only difference being, for me personally, a slight increase in optimism with the change in leadership and the nomination of the FIRST female BIPOC VP in the history of the United States. (BIPOC stands for black, indigenous, and people of color).

That was the real win IMO.

Now, back to February and BLACK HISTORY MONTH.

If 2020 taught us white folx ANYTHING, it was that we have tons and tons of work to do.

When it comes down to my own antiracism work, my mind goes to the question, "What can I control?"

I can't control what other people choose to believe, but I can control who I follow on social media.

I can't control other people who are dead set in keeping the systems of white supremacy intact and unfortunately, thriving.

But I can continue to spread information on my platforms that other white folx may not have come into contact with... yet.

I can pass along information from BIPOC folx actually living in the systems of inequality and oppression, and I can hand deliver these facts on the doorstep of people that may not "see" this information...for whatever reason.

As I have stated here before, I don't hate those that are ignorant. But I will not engage with those that are unwilling to question the ignorant ideas that they have *chosen* to believe. I will not entertain someone's idea that white privilege doesn't exist or that they don't "see" color.

I will break down why yes, it does exist and it is in literally every part of our world. I will explain just how problematic the "I don't see color" narrative truly is.

For me, it has always been about continuing my own education to in turn, further educate those around me.

I can control my own antiracism education and I can continue to disperse this vital information to the folx that look like me that need this right in front of their faces.

This isn't about black squares on Instagram and a few acknowledgments that Black Lives Matter.

This is about understanding that this is a lifelong journey of undoing what we were taught to believe.

Understanding that this is not something for BIPOC folx to "fix."

If we want to see a world of true equality and justice, it begins and ends with us white folx to truly do-the-work.

Will you join me?

In today's blog I want to highlight the invaluable work of Rachel Cargle, a public academic, philanthropic innovator, and social entrepreneur.

If you do not follow her on Instagram *yet*, please do. And today I specifically want to invite you to her Do The Work challenge.

It is exactly how it sounds, and this challenge breaks down a different topic each day. It doesn't matter if you are just beginning your antiracism journey or if you are years in, this is laid out for us white folx to slowly peel back layers and to begin to truly see the world we live in from the perspective of BIPOC folx.

Remember, our biases are by design, and just as there was intentional action in instilling the ideas of white supremacy into us, we must take intentional action to remove those ideas and replace them with facts or how the world really *sees* BIPOC.

Also, last but most definitely not least, all races need to be in your antiracism journey, and it is imperative to do this work for our Asian brothers and sisters. Hate crimes against this community are at an all time high since the pandemic began and we must stand up for justice and step in to protect this community. Have you heard of an organization called Hollaback?

This organization is a major resource for us white folx and there are many different types of training in order to truly equip us with the tools, verbage, and action steps to truly embody allyship. There is a specific training to combat xenophobic harrassment against Asian Americans and I recommend all white folx jump on that immedately. The link to this training is here.

Thank you for sticking around for this crazy long blog, you made it! lol.

Also, thank you for supporting who I am as a person. I have truly become more and more authentic in my "business self" these last few years, and the more of myself that I share, my true values and what I believe in, the more clients, just like you, come out in droves to support me.

I thank you for continuing on this journey with me.

Until next time.

xo,

Emily

photo by @badasscrossstich