Dear Reader,

I met Alina Potrzebowski at what turned out to be the last position I held in the non-profit sector. She stood out to me immediately. I attended a training she held for staff, in which she was discussing white supremacy and the culture it perpetuates in non-profit work.

This was not my first discussion around this area; however, I could tell that for some what she said was hard to hear. There are a lot of white women in the non-profit sector. A lot of good intentions. And..a lot of harm is done. That is for another day.

I have gotten to know Alina more over the past two years. The gift that has stayed with me is that our friendship has strengthened over time, over both of us leaving this non-profit, over uncertain bonds formed in very traumatic spaces, and over what was initially and entirely virtual.

A huge bond we shared initially and continually is our desire to be anti-racist. The Anti-Racism journey for both of us has demonstrated to us that we are each capable of change.

What is within one human is within all of us.

The piece that is often not discussed, that should be, is that we can cause great harm. Not only can you NOT cause great change but you can cause great harm with intentions. You can have the best intentions in the world AND cause great harm.

So be quiet. Listen. Remember you do not have to have an opinion. Sometimes, it’s not our space or within our right to share every opinion….shocking I know. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know enough to have an informed opinion on this.” Then we can just listen…

I will end this introduction with what Alina says in this conversation that has struck me since. This is what I am sitting with after this exchange.

“We have to believe people can change. We have to believe we can change. If we don’t believe people can change, then we’re stuck here too.”

“If I can change, and if I changed, than others can change too.”

And…what is within one human is within all of us.

Warmly,

Aisha