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Dear <<First Name>>
It's not about the taser, expired license plates, or air freshener.
When police killed Daunte Wright on Monday, it wasn't because of a hanging air freshener or because the officer thought she was using her taser gun. He was killed because, as a Black man, he was seen as a threat and a danger that needed to be stopped. His humanity was not considered or even seen.
When systems, organizations, and individuals fail to see the humanity in Black people, we continue the atrocities that began hundreds of years ago.
What can we do to manage the impact of racial trauma and watching Black people continue to be killed by the police?
Acknowledge it - whether you are directly connected to racial trauma because you are Black or connected to it as someone who identifies as an ally, acknowledging the pain, hurt, and anger that we're grappling with.
Here's the note that I shared with my team on Monday:
I long for the day when I no longer have to write to you to acknowledge, grieve, and rage about another Black man killed by the police.
I long for the day when others treat us for the glorious beings we are and were designed to be.
I long for a time when we can fully exhale because we are all free.
Today is not that day. So I cry and grieve and rage with you about the police's killing of Daunte Wright. And I hold my breath with you for all of the Black men we know and love.
And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou was a balm for me this morning. Collective self-care is how we'll continue to get through.
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