Facebook Publication Date: 1/28/2018 12:01

Ok. Can’t put it off any longer.

The Ask.

I shared the story of my time at Carl’s for a reason.

And that is that I believe in the value of work, any work, be it fast food or neurosurgery or sex work or clergy. I believe that there is no work that is beneath me. That picking up trash on the road should be elevated as much as arguing a case in court. That providing a listening ear behind a bar has as much value to society, perhaps even more, than a hedge fund manager moving millions with a mouse click.

And I believe, to my marrow believe, in the virtue of service. In the deepest, most meaningful meaning of the word. In fact, it is part of my liberation as a black woman, to, as was touched on last night, reclaim that word and that virtue.

I serve. At the job i took decades ago for no other reason than to pay the bills but so I could live out my call to serve in ways that hope have truly had value and impact. At the market. In the plumbing section. I can’t be a friend without service.

Healthy service, not servile, not obsequious, not with bowed head and bowed spirit, but in freedom and joy.

I am a foot washer. I would carry a pitcher and a basin with me everywhere I go if I could, to hold tired feet and soothe tired spirits.

This is what I want to do here. I am making some assumptions about you all, these almost 500 people who have joined me on this journey in only a week. I see you. I want to do my best by you. I want this to be a place where you can get food, learn how to live out your convictions, and cleave with and succor and share and learn from your fellow sojoiners who have found this space with you.

I want to serve and challenge and stretch and laugh with you.

I want you to be fully present here when you come, as I will be with you. Not observers, not passive spectators.

Here, there will be no cheap seats. I will assume that because you self-selected in, that you are in for the long haul, that you want to go more and deeper and farther, and that you are willing to find the time and the spoons to do so, so we can change our world. It’s the only way, really. If this is just another place to scroll and roll, this venture has already failed.

But oh. But oh. Now that I have your ears and eyes and attention (and I hope, even in this early stage, a just a little bit of your hearts) I have to admit to so much fear. I don’t want to lose you.

Doing a venture like this has pushed every one of my buttons.

–Influence buttons: who do I think I am doing this work? Who gave me permission to speak to you and into you? How dare I think I have something to say that hasn’t been said before?

–Congruence buttons: How dare I exhort people to live their lives in ways that *I* don’t sometimes? Do I have the right to do this work with confidence I don’t always feel? Can I talk about relationships when not every one of my own is on solid ground? Can I talk of the transcendent when I cannot always see divine tapestry through the fog of my own lived experience?

–And yes. Money. Support, Funds, Contributions. There. I said it.

Deep breath, everyone (especially for me).

Do I have the right to ask you to support a venture that, for now, is more promise than production, more virtual than actual? Who am I to think that my words are worth your latte money?

Welp.

Yes, I have dared to say, yes. To all of the above.

I do have something to say that is unique, there are lessons I do think are worth sharing from and in my own painfully imperfect journey, and finally, without arrogance but with assurance, my words and my experiences are indeed worth your support.

So I am indeed asking you to stand behind me and your fellow walkers. Yes. Yes. I want your latte money.

To do this well and with intention will necessitate a certain time commitment. To do this well, to find you resources and voices not my own will take effort. Even moving articles here from the last year to a dedicated space will take time. Effort that I am happy to expend, privileged to expend but effort nonetheless. I would also like to be able to create resources under Lace on Race; that will take resources as well, and to attend and participate in conferences where I learn and even share my own message.

I am explicitly asking you to support me in this work that I feel led to do. I need you.

I need you to help me be able to create the conditions for this space to flourish.

And also this: I need your help to support my conviction that this work stays accessible to all. Once I was convicted that my words and my work were indeed worth tangible support, I considered going behind a paywall. But it is absolutely crucial that everyone hears, everyone participates. So it is important to be open.

Which means, yes, that those of you who can will be in no small way, supporting and welcoming into community those who cannot. No one will know who is who. We will all journey together. The neurosurgeon, the barista, the house flipper, the receptionist, the professor, the IT maven (I need one BTW), and me. Walking together. That is my vision.

So here is my plan. It’s threefold.

Yes, you will indeed see the paypal link on every post. I would encourage you to neither be activated by it, nor numb to it. If you find a post, either original or aggregated, compelling enough, I ask you to click the link.

If you want to walk a bit farther, I am asking (that word again) for sustainers. People who are willing to contribute to the community in a reliable ongoing way via recurring paypal. Those interested in supporting me in this enhanced way, in whatever monthly amount you choose, please message me.

One of the things that terrified me regarding people supporting my work is the danger of being driven by it. That cannot happen. Like hearts and likes and shares are sort of referendums and votes on my writing, so much so is money. Since I have been asking for money, it has been interesting to see how some of them do way better than others. Mostly when I am pointing outward, and it’s easy to agree.

Much less so when I am gently talking about inward change. So asking for sustainers mitigates that. I need you to support my work regardless of how you feel about a particular post. If I start writing for clicks, again, I will have failed this community and myself in a major way. I cannot pull punches. I cannot allow myself to be swayed. So I need people to be willing to walk with me for the long haul.

But it can’t be only for me. I am going to do a weekly ask not just for me, but for YouCaring. I will find a person or family of color and ask for your support for both of us. If you were willing to support me with one amount, half goes to me, the other to them. No clench. Anonymously. If you want to find another person or family to gift, feel free to look at their site and do so. You can say completed in the comments and share your story too.

Welp that’s it. That’s The Ask. I hope you will be able and willing to do one or two or all of the above. Thank you for reading this far. and for walking beside me.

Blessings to all,

Lace on Race

paypal.me/mennolacie

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