Show. Up.

So, then.

People have asked me what they can do to support the space and ensure its viability for the long haul.

Since our move to the website in October we have not lacked for page views, and we have been gratified at the continued tangible support that keeps the doors open and buys bribes for Tikka Rose. Every chicken treat is a blessing; and not only for the black Lab mix who pokes her head under my arm every time I sit down to write. This a great thing. We are painfully aware that ours is not the only racial justice site you could connect with. We are also painfully aware of the needs outside this space, which is why we are continuing the commitment to feature organizations other than our own and encourage your support of them as well. We thank you for that.

It’s simple.

But.

Support is not only in dollars, important as that is. Your choosing to engage with me, with the material, and with each other is also vital, and that is what has been missing these past three months. We need to course correct that.

We understand why, for the most part. It is indeed harder to engage with this hybrid format we now live with; partly on the Facebook Page, and partly here. It’s different, and a bit intimidating. We also made the switch right at the beginning of Holiday season, when attention turned to family and hearth. All to the good. As well, we cannot forget my illness. When I was ill, there were fewer postings, even though I am confident that very few have actually fully engaged with the content in pinned posts already presented to you. All of this, taken together, made for reduced engagement.

But now that the tinsel and the menorahs and the Kwaanza lights have been put away, and I can breathe and my body needs less than 12 hours a day, so I myself can be more present, it is time to make a renewed commitment to engagement.

It reminds me of a story from my faith tradition. A man was covered with boils, and wanted healing. He went to everyone he could find, and they all gave them complicated and costly remedies, none of which worked. Then a small girl suggested he wade in the water; muddy turgid water, dip in, and find healing. So simple. But still the man resisted. The girl persisted, and finally the man relented, and indeed, his condition was cured.

It’s not so different in racial justice spaces, and it is not not so different here. We want complex prescriptions, lists of do’s and don’ts, performative dances that tire us out but still leave us wanting–and that leaves the world utterly unchanged; still covered with relational and racial and emotional lesions.

The simple suggestion we give sounds almost too easy, doesn’t it?

Suit up (prepare for engagement), Show Up (ready to engage for the long haul and with relentless reliability) and Stand Up (to do the work we are called to do, inside and outside this space; and, crucially, Speak Up (to take our method and message and ethos out to the wider world that you can indeed influence).

All of these elements take practice. We have said, over and over, that this is neither a spectator nor is it an entertainment space. If you are here, it is assumed that you are here to work, at your own pace yes, but here to work. That work is mostly relational; the material presented to you is important but secondary to the internal work you are charged to do and the relationship you forge as you engage with and support your fellow walkers.

And this, said quietly but insistiently: I gently ask you to think of me, your Lace.

Just a little.

It is hard to write when I feel I am shouting into a void. I need your engagement, I need to know you are here and wrestling with material just as I am; I need you wrestling with me and with each other. I need to see your progress over time, and that is impossible for me to glean and discern absent your considered and thoughtful responses.

I know, that is different than other spaces. Hearts and likes and ‘you’re so wonderful’ and one word comments are the order of the day elsewhere. But, again, we are New People Doing New Things In New Ways. There can be no passivity in racial justice. And your making considered, intentional movement here will turbo charge your praxis in other online spaces, as well as in your offline life. Conversely, your silence here reinforces silence and spectatorship in those other places; a pattern and a cycle this space was specifically designed to challenge and to correct.

So, how can you help? Let me see you. Risk a little, which will be such an encouragement and allow me to risk a lot. This year will, without question, be the most important year of our lives on a number of levels. We need to be ready with the tools, and the practice this time demands.

In service to this, in addition to everything else, we will be re-running foundational pieces from the last two years. For you new walkers, this is material you may only now be encountering. For seasoned walkers, let it be a refresher. Back to Basics. Learning how to Show Up for each other and for the world you say you want to see.

Suit Up. Show Up. Stand Up. Speak Up.

This ain’t dress rehearsal. This is Go Time.

With determination and sturdy walking shoes,

Your Lace