"Unraveling My Own Anti-Blackness: A Journey of Liberation Through #PLA"

1. What’s your “Why” for being in #PLA?

My “Why” for being in #PLA was a little broad, I’m not sure I totally understood it at the time if I’m being honest. I just knew I needed to take the next step for liberation and for myself. I wanted to be authentic in my conversations around advocacy for Black Liberation, both in my work as a leader, and in my personal life. I knew it started from within, and felt I had a lot of unraveling to do about my own messages about anti-Blackness, and my own part in White Supremacy.

2. Who were you before #PLA?

Before #PLA I would shy away from tough conversations for fear of being wrong. The themes around white perfectionism, and white guilt really hit home for me as I first began this class. I never wanted to be called out for not knowing enough, so I would either not say anything at all, or get angry in a situation without the tools to fully understand it. I definitely did not understand the complexities of White Supremacy, and how it is seeping into every part of our lives, not just in the obvious ways, but in small ways internally, all the way to the entire system that is being upheld.

Niceness vs Kindness is another theme that was fully engrained in who I was as a person. I would have rather upheld my own white comfort and kept the “peace” of the situation at all costs. I was taught to be nice without understanding the difference between niceness and kindness.

3. How has #PLA changed your understanding of how Oppression works?

My entire understanding of how Oppression works has changed. I see it everywhere now, not just in spaces where marginalized people are present (or obviously not present). Wanda said this at the beginning and it’s true, #PLA has “ruined” me, and I can’t go back. But for this, I am grateful. I do not want to be naive, even though not seeing is easier.

I know now that Oppression was a choice made over and over again, and continues to be upheld by choices made by people everyday. I understand that the way we work in a capitalist society is held up by Oppression and built on slavery. I understand that the ways in which we interact with our immediate family circles, to our socio-economic circles, uphold Whiteness and Oppression everyday, and we need to actively recognize it in order to work against it. Even down to the ways that I feel guilt and shame can be oppressive in nature through my own Whiteness.

4. What is the #PLA space like?

The #PLA space is warm and welcoming. It can be uncomfortable and deeply personal to learn about and talk about our own White Supremacy, but Wanda and Lissa created a space that makes that uncomfortability normal and acceptable. It’s educational, vulnerable, and open. I will truly miss everyone I got to share this experience of growth with, and I so value the willingness of everyone to show up authentically.

5. In what ways have you grown through #PLA?

#PLA has given me strength, education, softness, and kindness (not niceness :) ). I feel I have grown in my patience for others, but with the courage to still disrupt. As Wanda always says, you have to give others the same grace we’re giving you - and that is real. In moments where I find myself ready to have a quick response, I am thoughtful and inquisitive. In moments where I find myself wanting to retract and keep the peace, I am more courageous to speak up. I step into spaces with a wider lens of why things may be the way they are, how much history has gone into it, and how Black folx may be experiencing it. I find myself doing this nearly everywhere I go now, thinking about the systems in place and how I can help disrupt it - sometimes just in small ways in my inner circles to make the bigger impact spread.

6. How do you use what you have learned?

The main way I use what I have learned is in my inner circle of friends and family, to have the conversations and talk about what systems of oppression are really at play, and in my work to ensure when I lead, I lead with a lens of protecting the oppressed. I truly feel like it is seeped into every part of my life now, including how I treat myself. I try to understand when White Supremacy is telling me something that I don’t need to listen to. I think about the the character of “Whiteness” that are not serving me or anyone, and I try to actively recognize them and disengage with them. I ask myself why I may be feeling this way all the time now, and constantly try to recognize what parts are my Whiteness that I can leave behind.

7. Why would you recommend #PLA to others?

#PLA has been one of the most life-changing courses I have taken. The beauty is in the slow and constant iteration into every part of your life. It’s not a rushed process that you fit into a few weeks, it’s a constant practice that literally gets you used to talking and thinking about what Liberation really means everyday. It helps you understand your own role in White Supremacy in the most open and non-judgemental environment, helps you understand the intricacies of the history of Oppression and the way it’s still seen today, and it helps you understand how to actively dismantle it in your own way. I am so eternally grateful for this class, for Wanda as the most incredible leader of the space, and for Lissa the most amazing support. Thank you Wanda & Lissa, I will miss you both and am indebted to your work with me. I hope to see you again soon.