Facebook Publication Date: 4/19/2019 15:04

In the ‘White Supremacy and Reacts’ post a community member made a statement that I am breaking out with my answer–and some more additional commentary.

Her words:

Your comment about the transactional fallacy white folks can have in this group is also spot on. One wonders how many have joined or donate simply to assuage their conscience (or to be able to think better of themselves) as something they “earned” by just joining or donating without doing any hard reflection or work.

My answer:

I can answer that question with frank candor, and with almost 18 months of data: a small number (like 5%) of those who engage actually do fund, but there is nobody who funds who doesn’t engage. Period. There is almost nobody who funds whose name I do not know. The converse is true, and vitally more important: *those who fund, also engage, mindfully, thoughtfully, reliably, and with whole heart and intention*. They have skin in the game, and whether they funded with five dollars or 50, they want to get their money’s worth. So they intentionally come to the space; they give more detailed answers; they wrestle with the material–and with me–more. This is a big deal.

—–

This is unvarnished truth. The more you engage, elbow deep into this work, the more you will get out of it, and the less you will harm people of color, which is the entire point of this work.

Liking and hearting will not, by themselves do it.

As to funding, what I wrote is true. People who fund are embedded members of this community; people who are embedded and durable members of this community are more likely to fund. This is why the ‘Lean In; Plant Roots’ part of our new motto is so important. To choose to stay here, and to make it possible that this place is durable and sustainable makes all the difference.

Those who only like or heart, or who don’t come to the page on their own, but wait for something to pop up on their feed, have only tangential engagement. There needs to be a real sense of ownership, of your intention and dedication, of this space and of your fellow walkers.

We will be talking more about the four elements of authentic engagement after we get more Relational Ethics under our belts. Which means you all need to go and engage with thoughtfulness and intention there as well.

We are going more slowly than I thought we would, but if it results in a cohort who are are ready to truly take this work, and themselves, to the next level, it will be worth it.

So engage. For the right reasons. And with high aim steering in mind. This is for the long haul.

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