Choose Discomfort

Hi Friends!

I’ve had an important week of self-reflection, so this is a short update. Thank you to those who reached out with interest in meeting and/or having a candidate forum. If you’re interested and haven’t said so yet, please let me know soon.

A friend shared Books for Littles, specifically “Captivating Kids Stories To Recognize Privilege.” Please read this and sit with it and notice your defensiveness when you read her passionate words. Let the defensiveness pass. Be grateful that she is willing to share so openly with the world her experiences and what she needs you to do to address systemic inequity. Find a way to validate her frustration and to find a way that you can make a change in your life so our children can be better anti-racists than we are.

Our society teaches us that success = comfort. So, that translates to discomfort = failure. This work will always be uncomfortable. Our socialization will undermine our choices to seek difficult conversations. Our surroundings will push us to quit, to seek something that feels safe and comfortable and stable. But change does not come through comfort. And those who do not have a choice will remain uncomfortable or worse. It is a privilege to avoid discomfort. In this context, invite discomfort and be willing to embrace it. Discomfort = motivation to be and do better.

As the coronavirus arrives in our region, as decisions are made about closing schools, please remember that there are many vulnerable families in our community who may be made more vulnerable by such systemic emergencies. I appreciate the latest School Talk message from APS that stated: “Depending on recommendations, APS will provide meals for students who receive Free or Reduced-Price Meals at designated locations. APS will communicate this information to families, if needed and available.” Many families depend on our schools for their students to consistently receive breakfast and lunch. These families sometimes also work hourly jobs and do not have paid sick leave and/or health insurance. The measure of our community will be the way in which we take care of each other, not from a place of pity but from a place of compassion. We are all in this together.

RESOURCES:
- Petula Dvorak writes about racism in children’s hockey teams and what one parent is doing about it.
- Rebecca Tan writes about Montgomery County’s struggle with the presence of police officers in schools.
- A group member shared an article by Faima Bakar, who says “The way you define racism may stop you from seeing it — so what definition do you hold?”

Emily
Listen. Amplify. Follow.