White Ally Email on the Web

Our wonderful former Intern and new volunteer leader, Claire Mills, wrote the email below to share with friends and family. We were so impressed, we asked to share it on our site.

We love the URL she created (tinyurl.com/whiteallyemail), the framing, the important links... all of it.

Much needed and presented with a powerful mix of humility, a clear commitment to justice, and meeting people where they are by welcoming them into a journey of self discovery.

We hope it will get widely read by those who need it most.

By Claire Mills

EMAIL TEMPLATE:

Hi all,

As a white person who grew up mostly surrounded by other white people, and goes to college at a predominately white institution, I have been free to ignore my privilege for most of my life. Moments such as these, where an innocent black person is killed and the nation erupts in protest, are the few moments where I cannot ignore my race. Instead, I must confront my privilege and ask myself: what can I do?

Whether these protests have encouraged you to ask the same question or started other conversations about protesting, violence, or race, I hope you will take this email as a chance to consider your own privilege.

This email includes information and resources to help us all do that. Here you can find an overview of the current situation, educational resources, links to organizations to support through donations, and advice for taking action. Thank you to all who have assisted me in this project and spread this email far and wide. Please send these resources on to as many people as you can.

1: Understand the Current Protests

The most recent outbreak of protests is due to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. If you have yet to see the video of his death, I urge you to watch it. As white people, we must stand witness to the atrocities our black neighbors face every day in this country. Read more about the situation here.

In response to this horrible event, protests broke out first in Minneapolis, and then across the United States. Many of these protests have been peaceful, organized by black leaders in their cities. Here are examples:

Photos of protests in Minneapolis, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Denver.

Protesters kneeling LA.

DC Protesters yelling “Stop Killing Black People.”

Protesters in Denver laying down and chanting “I Can’t Breathe.”

Genesee County Sheriff (Flint, MI) joining the protests in solidarity.

Peaceful protests in Santa Monica, CA.

An “I Can’t Breathe” lie-in in Westmoreland County, PA.

“I Can’t Breathe” Chants in Boston.

There have also been many instances of violence. But we should all be careful when discussing “riots” or violent protest. First, destruction of property should never be placed on the same level as the destruction of human life. Buildings and windows and signs can be replaced, human life cannot be. We must always keep perspective on what is truly important. Please watch this video where a protester in Minnesota beautifully speaks about recent looting and the protesters’ mission. That said, much of the violence in these recent protests have NOT been instigated by the protesters themselves. Rather, police have escalated the situation unnecessarily. In this video you can see instances of police escalation, which has been happening all over this country since the outbreak of the protests. You can see more examples from all across the country in this thread on Twitter. Further, white individuals have often instigated violence, despite black people urging them not to. Watch this video, from US Representative Ilhan Omar on destruction and looting in Minneapolis. She says “our organizers don’t put black lives at risk. Those who are exploiting our grief do.”

You can read live updates by the New York Times, CNN, the Washington Post, and NBC News. I also encourage you to look at your local news sources to find out what is happening in your city.

2: Educate Yourself

It is not the job of black people, or any person of color, to educate white people on racism. Racism is OUR problem. We create it, maintain it, benefit from it, and must work to end it. And in order to do this, we must educate OURSELVES, not ask people of color to do so.

This is a long list of educational resources that you can use to do just that! It doesn’t nearly cover everything out there. but don’t let the plethora of resources overwhelm you; let it inspire you! Pick what suits your needs and go from there.

Books to Read

Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis (2016)
How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi (2019)
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson (2016)
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (2017)
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (2018)
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (2018)
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving (2014)
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (2016)
Towards the Other America: Anti-Racist Resources for White People Taking Action for Black Lives Matter by Chris Crass (2015)
The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics by George Lipsitz (1998; updated 2006)
When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson (2005)
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis (1981; updated 2011)

Documentaries to Watch

13th (Netflix)
Slavery By Another Name, PBS Documentary
Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement (Youtube)
Ferguson: A Report from Occupied Territory (Youtube)
I Am Not Your Negro, PBS Documentary (Youtube and Rent)

Movies and Shows Based on Real Events to Watch

Just Mercy (YouTube, Amazon)
When They See Us (Netflix)
Dear White People (Netflix)
The Hate U Give (Hulu)

Podcasts to Listen To

Articles and Other Resources to Explore

3: Donate

We’ve all heard the phrase: put your money where your mouth is! There are so many organizations fighting for racial justice and your donations help increase their impact tremendously.

The Official George Floyd Memorial Fund was started to aid the family of George in paying funeral and burial expenses. It has since raised large amounts of money they plan to put to good use in honoring his memory.

Black Visions Collective and Reclaim the Block promote community building and the lessening of police presence in neighborhoods with predominantly people of color.

The Bail Project, The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and your local bail/bond fund assist protesters by paying bail, helping them gain legal representation, and otherwise supporting activists in the legal system.

Finally, there are many organizations who work to support and empower activists across the country to organize their community to reform the systems which perpetuate inequality. Donate to places such as Black Lives Matter, the Dream Defenders, Dignity and Power Now, Common Justice, the Equal Justice Initiative, and the Know Your Rights Camp to support this broader mission.

4: Take Direct Action

Critically Self-Reflect

Consider how you have contributed to the system of racism in America, even unintentionally. Reflect on how you engage with people of color and discussions of race or racism. Also, think about how you have benefited from racism, simply by being a white person.

As an example of how to begin this self analysis: Black Americans have been killed while going for a run (Ahmaud Arbery), playing with a toy gun (Tamir Rice), receiving a routine traffic ticket (Sandra Bland), and walking home with a hoodie on (Trayvon Martin). Black parents have to warn their children of how to avoid such situations from a very young age.

White privilege is being able to engage in these everyday behaviors without ever worrying about being shot. White privilege is being pulled over by police and not thinking it may lead to your death. White privilege is never having to have these difficult conversations with your children for their protection. Critical self-reflection comes with acknowledging the privilege of every situation you have been in and are in where your race does not put you in harm’s way, and what causes those situations to be so dangerous for those without such privilege.

Engage in Hard Conversations

As white people, we have a responsibility to confront our own role in upholding racism in America, and ask other white people to do the same. Please begin these conversations with other white people in your life, particularly those who you think may disagree with you. Especially once you have educated yourself with some of the above resources, you will be well equipped to have these conversations, even if they aren’t easy. And they may not be successful. It is difficult for some white people to address their role in the system. But that is not an excuse to ignore racism from your friends and family. Start non-confrontational, open ended discussions where you seek to understand others perspectives in order to educate and expand their world view. And remember, none of us are perfect. Recognize how you have also contributed to the things you now speak against, and retain humility during these discussions.

Sign Petitions
- Color of Change to charge officers involved in the murder of George Floyd
- Justice for Big Floyd to charge officers involved
- Change.org to raise the degree of murder charged against Derek Chauvin
- NAACP’s “We Are Done Dying” petition for justice for George Floyd
- Protect and Serve Petition proposing a bill requiring a minimum 3 year sentence for officers who kill an unarmed person of color, as well as additional charges for police killing POC on their own property, due to mistaken identity, while POC are restrained or handcuffed, or due to officer breach of training protocol.
- Justice for Breona Taylor to call for action to be taken in another recent instance of police violence
- Color of Change to make systemic changes to policing in order to hold officers accountable and invest in tools which actually make communities of color safer, such as mental health services, education, and housing
- Hands Up Act to create a 15-year minimum sentence requirement for officers convicted of killing an unarmed individual

Attend Protests

Of course, there are many protests happening right now. But even if you don’t join these, there will be more in the future. Take the time out of your normal life to show up in solidarity. Be aware that you are a white person entering a protest likely organized by black people, so understand your place. Follow others' lead. Do NOT engage in violence or agitate law enforcement. Often what can be most useful to protests is for allies to provide resources such as food, medical supplies, and physical support. White people are often used as a barrier between black citizens and the police, as the police are far less likely to engage in physical violence with white people.

Speak to Your Elected Officials

Call your elected officials. Whether national, state, or local, they are paid to represent you. Engage them on these issues and demand they make progress. Often you can have the most impact on a local level. Find out your local community’s practices for racial bias and de-escalation trainings for police officers and demand progress be made if necessary. Take the time to talk to your town’s mayor, a county official, or even a police chief.

Step in When Racism Happens

When your family member or friend makes an offhand racist comment/joke, don’t just let it slide. Speak up and stand up for what you know to be right. This also goes for bosses, coworkers, professors, instructors, ministers, and anyone in an authority position. They should not use their power to perpetuate racism, and you have the right to step in.

If you do see an incident happening between a police officer and a black person, be a witness. Whether through recording the instance from a distance or making your presence known to the officer you have the opportunity to increase accountability. If done correctly, this can de-escalate situations and quite literally save lives.

Spread the Word

If you use social media, be vocal about your support for this movement. People are most likely to be influenced to change their perspective by those that they know and love. Your post can have a big impact. A few things to remember when you post:

Monitor your post for comments. Try to engage with others, even if they disagree with you, but feel free to remove hate speech.
Do not post pictures of protesters where their face is visible. This puts them at risk by making it easy for them to be targeted.
Do not spread videos of black people being killed on social media without warnings. Place other photos to cover them in your Facebook posts, for example, so people have to intentionally click to view the video. Watching this type of content over and over again can be traumatic for black individuals.
Instead of only posting your own thoughts/opinions, uplift black voices in your posts. Center their words and experiences when possible.
Ask yourself: Who is this helping? Am I only posting to feel less guilt? Am I only doing this to appear as though I am not racist?

I hope this email has helped you to find concrete steps you can take right now. Please make one of those steps passing along this email to others, even if you think they might not agree with its contents immediately. If you do so, consider adding your own personal note to encourage others to follow your lead. This is about far more than an email chain: this is about white people taking ownership of our role in the systems that uphold racism, educating ourselves on how to move forward, and then taking those steps.

Personally, in addition to a renewed commitment to live anti racist practices every day, I am committing to a monthly schedule of donations to organizations listed in this email. I will also be spending my summer working through the educational resources provided here. Please join me!

Best,

(Your Name)

Thanks to bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES, https://www.charisbooksandmore.com/understanding-and-dismantling-racism-booklist-white-readers, and tinyurl.com/blmforever for some of the resources in this document. If you want to find more resources, check them out, as well as these resource pages:

Latest posts

US Boats to Gaza helps Freedom Flotilla Effort to Break the Siege

Update from Ann Wright, April 15, 2024

Here is a beautiful Instagram that updates the world about the upcoming flotilla. Volunteers are coming from more than 30 countries!

Media Release
April 4, 2024

The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) will sail in mid April with multiple vessels, carrying 5500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international human rights observers to challenge the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. This is an emergency mission as the situation in Gaza is dire, with famine setting in in northern Gaza, and catastrophic hunger present throughout the Gaza Strip as the result of a deliberate policy by the Israeli government to starve the Palestinian people. Time is critical as experts predict that hunger and disease could claim more lives than have been killed in the bombing.

Getting humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza is urgent, but it is not sufficient. We must end Israel’s unlawful, deadly blockade as well as Israel’s overall control of Gaza. Allowing Israel to control what and how much humanitarian aid can get to Palestinians in Gaza is like letting the fox manage the henhouse. And yet, this is what the international community of states is allowing by refusing to sanction Israel and defy its genocidal policies in order to ensure that enough aid reaches the trapped, beleaguered and bombarded civilian population.

The Cyprus maritime corridor, the U.S. floating pier project, and symbolic air drops of food are all distractions from the fact that these methods of aid delivery are insufficient, and still leave Israel in control of what aid can get to the Palestinian people, all while Israel actively prevents thousands of aid trucks from entering Gaza through the land crossings.

On January 26 the International Court of Justice ruled that, ‘the State of Israel remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and with the said Order, including by ensuring the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.’ On March 28, the ICJ ordered additional preliminary measures, which included requiring the Israeli forces to stop “preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance” to Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has long violated its responsibility as occupying power to ensure the health and wellbeing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Now, it is engaging in full scale genocidal conduct in Gaza and using starvation as a weapon of war. Israeli military and political leaders have repeatedly declared their intention to collectively punish the entire population of Gaza, including by denying them food, water and other life-sustaining aid. We therefore reject Israel’s control over the humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza and reject any Israeli inspection of our cargo.For everyone’s safety and to ensure aid is delivered to those who need it, the FFC is bringing hundreds of international humanitarian observers, from many countries and different backgrounds.

“The International Court of Justice’s preliminary measures ordered against Israel are very clear” comments Ismail Moola of South Africa’s Palestine Solidarity Alliance, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. “The court’s ruling requires the whole world to play their part to stop the genocide unfolding in Gaza, including unobstructed access to vital aid. While our governments fail to lead in these urgently required humanitarian responses, people of conscience and our grassroots organizations must act to take leadership. When governments fail, we sail!”

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Many supporters of Nonviolence International are joining this aid effort as volunteers.

If you want to donate, please donate here.

(Please see this page for background information, resources, and action steps on Palestine / Israel)

NVI fiscally sponsors groups that work to help Gazans. Please support them.

If you want to hear news and views directly from Gaza, please check the website and social media sites of We Are Not Numbers.

US Boats to Gaza is a member of the global Freedom Flotilla Coalition. They seek to bring humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza and break the siege. Learn more about their important work below.

Here are some photos from the big recent Washington, DC event for Palestinian humanity that was part of much larger global effort.

Don't miss this important event!

In this time of enormous unnecessary suffering, it is vitally important that people of good will everywhere raise up the humanity of Palestinian people.

NVI is grateful to the co-founder of our wonderful fiscally sponsored partner, We Are Not Numbers, Ahmed Alnaouq, who brought this short moving video clip to our attention.

Don’t miss US Representative Rashida Tlaib saying the name and last words of WANN writer, Yousef Dawas.

Then take a moment to watch her powerful video here.

We Are Not Numbers is featured in this moving piece in "In These Times."

“I yearn for our voices to echo across the globe with the truth, reaching out to those who seek it.”

SHERELL BARBEE FEBRUARY 7, 2024

https://inthesetimes.com/article/letters-from-gaza-genocide-palestine-culture-

We are thrilled that Ahmed's powerful voice was included in the Washington Post.

Here is his excerpt and a link (behind a paywall) to the full article, which includes other perspectives - several not rooted in personal experience or basic human compassion for the suffering of others. When militarists are welcomed into the mainstream press, the media doesn't feel a need to provide "balance." But, for some reason, the few times that Palestinian voices are heard, they present another perspective that often negates Palestinian humanity.

The slaughter must end

Ahmed Alnaouq: Last week, Israel bombed my family home in Gaza, killing my father, as well as two brothers, three sisters and all of their children, in an instant. One friend described their bodies as “bags of meat” — an arm here, a leg there.

I write to you in mourning. Even now, we Palestinians are not granted the luxury to grieve. Instead, we are burdened with the responsibility to talk, to communicate the extent of our suffering and the injustice wielded against us.

So, first, I must say this: We demand an immediate cease-fire. We demand a lifting of the Israeli siege of Gaza and the restoration of electricity, fuel, water and food. And we demand unimpeded humanitarian access in line with international law.

Today, the word “genocide” is being widely used. I can’t think of another word that captures the magnitude of what Israel, a nuclear-armed military power, continues to unleash on a captive population of children and refugees. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the quiet part out loud: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before,” he said. “We will eliminate everything.”

But we Palestinians already knew what Gallant had in mind. Corralled in Gaza for the past 17 years, burdened with mass unemployment and poverty — even before white phosphorus filled the skies, or before we lay crushed beneath the rubble — we could not breathe. We were held captive like prisoners who had never committed a crime or shot down when we attempted to peacefully protest our incarceration.

Our 1 million children have never traveled outside Israel’s militarized cage and know nothing but the buzz of drones in the sky tracking their every move.

In the past week, I have lost everything. But I do not seek revenge. There is no “military solution” here, only a collective responsibility to finally grant Palestinians what they have demanded for decades, what they are owed: justice, freedom and their very basic rights as human beings.

Ahmed Alnaouq is the head of We Are Not Numbers, which pairs Palestinian writers with mentors overseas.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/02/gaza-ceasefire-civilian-military-humanitarian/

Click here to donate to support NVI's fiscally sponsored partner WANN.

Ahmed was also featured in this recent New York Times piece.

After the Israeli military killed his older brother in an airstrike in Gaza in 2014, Ahmed Alnaouq says, he almost lost his will to live. “I sank into a deep depression,” he told me in a recent phone call. But an American friend convinced him to write about his brother and channel his grief into something productive. Together, they founded We Are Not Numbers, a project that trains young writers in Gaza and publishes their personal essays in English.

The name is a nod to how numbing numbers can be. The higher the death toll, the less we are inclined to care, since the scale of human suffering can feel overwhelming. Statistics don’t trigger empathy and action. Personal stories do.

“This project changed my life because for the first time, I thought that some people can care about us,” Mr. Alnaouq said, describing the response it got outside Gaza.

We Are Not Numbers began as a way to memorialize the dead, but it quickly turned into a lifeline for the living. For young people in Gaza, stuck in a political system with few rights and a blockaded economy with few jobs, it provides a vital outlet for self-expression...

“After losing my family, I did not stop believing in what I believe in,” he told me. “I don’t want other people to feel what I am feeling. Not the Israelis, not the Palestinians.”

These very painful, honest, meaningful videos feature WANN's co-founder.

Trigger / harsh reality warning.

Mubarak Awad speaks on KKFI radio about Palestine

Moussa Elbayoumy, Yara Salamed, and NVI President Mubarak Awad discuss calls for a ceasefire in the current Israel-Hamas war. Moussa is an MD and chair of the board of the Kansas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Kansas). Yara is studying Law at UMKC and is President of Students for Justice in Palestine there. Mubarak is a Palestinian born in Jerusalem in 1943, influenced by Mennonite and Quaker missionaries. He received bachelors, masters and PhD degrees from universities in the US. He became a US citizen in 1978 and returned to Jerusalem in 1983 to found the Palestinian Centre for the Study of Nonviolence. He was expelled from Palestine in 1988 during the First Intifada for organizing nonviolent protests against mistreatment of Palestinians by Israeli military and settlers. Back in the US, he founded Nonviolence International. Moussa, Yara and Mubarak are calling for a ceasefire in the current Israel-Gaza war. KKFI.ORG

Sadly, this short NVI video clip from two years ago is still relevant.

Refaat Alareer, WANN's co-founder, killing featured in major media outlets.

CNN

Al Jazeera

Time

In this episode of Mondoweiss’s podcast Culture Editor Mohammed El-Kurd

speaks with journalist and co-founder of We Are Not Numbers Ahmad Alnaouq.

Michael Beer quoted in LA Times article on effective activism.

Please see these articles:

Writing while expecting to die “Can you kindly publish the attached stories if I die?” This is what we have been hearing from the young writers we work with from Gaza in the We Are Not Numbers project.

7 steps to end the cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine:
The path to peace requires nonviolent action not just from Israelis and Palestinians, but also Americans, the media, aid organizations and others.
By NVI Founder, Mubarak Awad. We are pleased to announce this piece was selected as Waging Nonviolence's top story of the year! https://wagingnonviolence.org/2023/12/waging-nonviolence-top-stories-2023/

When will we learn that violence doesn’t lead to security?
To support Israelis and Palestinians is to insist on their right to equally live in peace and freedom — not help structures of state violence and cultures of militarization.
By NVI Board member, Mohammed Abu-Nimer

Solidarity with Palestinians and Jews Sign on Statement.

By Jonathan Kuttab, NVI co-founder. Cat Zavis, Jewish Civil/Women's Rights Lawyer, Mediator, and Rabbi: Beyt Tikkun. Michael Lerner, Rabbi and Editor of Tikkun magazine.
Esther Azar, Arab Jewish Trauma Activist, and Rabbi: Trauma Informed Rabbinics.

Recent attacks by Israel on Gaza and Hamas fighters on Israel are tragic and will not resolve bring peace and justice to all.

NVI believes that nonviolence is the only way to end the savagery, brutality and cycle of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

NVI urges all parties to cease all military attacks and prevent further escalation of violence that will only harm innocent civilians on both sides.

Call for an immediate ceasefire and end to all violence, including an immediate halt to attacks towards Israel and Israeli military attacks on Gaza.

Urgent humanitarian action is needed, including the establishment of a humanitarian corridor inside and out of Gaza, for the safe movement of people and the delivery of essential supplies. This includes opening Erez and Kerem Shalom / Abu Salem crossings to allow for the movement of people and goods and remove the ban on access to the sea.

End violations of international law and impunity, including settlement expansions, forcible transfer, demolitions, settler violence, all part of ongoing and illegal de facto annexation of West Bank territory. Immediately lift all movement restrictions on Palestinian communities in the West Bank to allow the movements of goods and services.

Take action at the UN Security Council to reaffirm UN Security Council resolutions calling for a nonviolent resolution of disputes, the reversal of the annexation of Greater East Jerusalem and the preservation of the status quo at holy sites.

NVI supports nonviolent political resolution of the conflict by ending the systemic policies of oppression and discrimination of Palestinians, including the 16-year siege on Gaza and 56-year military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including. East Jerusalem.

We hope you will find this helpful and will share it with others.

US Boats to Gaza is a fiscally sponsored partner of NVI and a member of the global Freedom Flotilla Coalition. They seek to bring humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza and break the siege. Learn more below.

In this video, Ann Wright, a leader of US Boats to Gaza, Veterans for Peace, and Code Pink interrupts the US Secretary of State to call for a Cease Fire Now. Timestamp 1:45

Check out this powerful video (from before the latest crisis), learn more about their important work, and please consider supporting this creative constructive nonviolent movement.

Activists discuss global nonviolent movement for Palestinians April 8th

Don't miss this important event!

Join us on our youtube live channel, Youtube/nonviolence to watch this discussion of activist leaders on global solidarity and resistance for justice in Palestine.