Speaking out against racism may cause conflict, but it’s needed.
Despite George Floyd’s murder igniting a social justice movement around the country last summer, he was certainly not the first Black person to die at the hands of police — and he certainly was not the first Black or brown body to fall victim to years of oppression and violence. Yet when a global pandemic helped to spur on a movement for racial equality, amid a virus forcing the world to slow down while simultaneously uniting us in trauma, such a blatant injustice was incomprehensible. Especially to many who, prior to Floyd’s murder, had been, out of fear, ignorance, or privilege, reluctant to lend their voices, support, and action to calls for justice that was, and still is, sorely needed.
In the rise of new marchers, protestors, and allies was a contingent of suburban white moms who took the tragedy as a personal call to action. An often-underestimated group — suburban white women, specifically stay-at-home moms — refused to sit idly by during the historical moments of 2020, for “all mothers were summoned when George Floyd called out for his mama.” They organized protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, frequently with kids in tow due to lack of childcare during a pandemic. In response to Donald Trump’s tweet that the “suburban housewife” would vote for him (they didn’t), suburban moms rallied in support of President Joe Biden. Moms strategically utilized what free time they had to show their support for social justice and to volunteer for political progress.
But now that the dust has settled and President Biden is in the Oval Office, some progressive moms are left with a new reality: their activism has alienated them from family and friends.
Read the entire article, Anti-Racism Work Could Kill Your Social Circle — Maybe That's a Good Thing on Shondaland.
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