Perspectives
Thank you for journeying with us in understanding and learning about systemic racism. We hope that you will commit yourself to this life-long journey through reflection about your own thoughts and actions. By confronting a more informed historical truth which has led to current realities that perpetuate injustice in America, we can shift those systems and rebuild them to be more equitable. Your commitment to this journey is an act of courage. It will challenge you in many ways, and it will be worth it as you join the movement for collective liberation.
For more information about why this is important to Together is Better Alliance (TiBA) and why we think others would want to embark and continue on this journey, we invite you to consider perspectives, opinions, and resources on this page. Updates will be made quarterly.
Disclaimer: Together is Better Alliance presents this page based on opinions, reflections, and varied resources, not as a scholarly site. We welcome your feedback and contributions. We reserve the right to select and publish written contributions which we deem consistent with our mission and vision. Feel free to email us at info@togetherisbetteralliance.org.
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Voting: Our Superpower!
“People died so you could vote.”
--Chicago Taxi Driver, 1997
Towards the end of President Bill Clinton’s first term, I became disillusioned with the president and his policies. One day, chatting about Clinton with a friendly taxi driver, I said “I might not even vote next time he runs.” The driver, an older African American man, turned around and looked at me. He said: “People died so you could vote.” Even today, thinking about it gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes.
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Kansas City Star Apology
It is critical for white people—including me--to understand and remember that we were almost always raised with blinders on and were not aware we had them on, specifically regarding racial justice. We were not aware we wore these blinders and how they distorted the news we received, our education at home and school, and our resulting views. The tainted reporting on racial matters conflicts with the moral teaching and Biblical commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
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Straight Talk About the Word “Race”
Just so we are all beginning this discussion “at the same starting line”, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary definition of “race” is as follows:
“1: a competition between people, animals, vehicles, etc., to determine which one is the fastest: a contest of speed.”
That is probably the definition of race that we can all agree on. So how did the word “race” come to represent a descriptor of human beings?
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