Last week was filled with eruptions of "enough-is-enough" protests, grief and anger that have long built up under oppressive systems that are based on minimizing segments of our society, for the gain of others. We can protest against racism, share posts of BlackLivesMatter, support advocacy groups for justice, all beautiful, but nothing really changes anything if we seek the change outside ourselves.

These systems are not external oppressors, we are all raised in and conditioned by these systems, we are the systems until we change ourselves. The real work is to acknowledge what you represent by the colour of your skin, then chose who you want to be in this world. 

As a company we stand for justice, equality and respect. We are a certified B Corp and use our business as a tool to build a better world for all of us, to break down oppressive systems, and speak our truths. It is our duty to align our actions with the values we speak, and do our work. 

A few requests to white identifying people who are just becoming aware of the consequences of white supremacy and want to do something: Please do not tell people how they should grief or protest, the last centuries have been violent for most people who are not white identifying, and their trauma is through generations. This is no time to tell people not to express their anger. Sit with it, acknowledge discomfort.
Do not try and solve it to avoid your deep feeling of discomfort about what you represent. Sit with it, acknowledge the system you represent and how that feels to be an accomplice. Please do not ask people of colour, black or indigenous how you can help, what they want you to do to make it better, they are exhausted and are grieving, give time and space. If you feel compelled to do something, read our HOME page with lots of learning links, and HERE is a link to M4BL with lots of suggestions and actions you can take. Please be aware of the anger and grief that needs to be acknowledged and you cannot solve it. 

If you like to talk about what you feel in this time, send an email to BE@thealinker.com with your phone number. You can ask her all the questions you have about how we can learn to be in this time. 

We start this newsletter with a poem that BE Alink, founder of the Alinker wrote last week.