Silence is Complicity, they say.
There is pressure to be vocal, to express solidarity, and to aid in the fight against the socio-economic structures that perpetuate racial injustice.
There is that loud call to rabble-rouse.
But in all this, there is also a place for Silence.
Because it is through silence that we recognize our ignorance. It is with silence that we bow our heads and concede “I didn’t fully comprehend what you were going through.”
It is also through silence that we are able to cure this blindness. When we are quiet, we can listen and we can learn.
It is only in silence that we can hear our own unconscious biases. When we are still, we discover how our minds react to whom our children play with, how it determines whom we are willing to go on dates with. When we are quiet, we can observe how we choose the neighborhoods we live in, whom we hire, and how we unconsciously pass all these biases to the next generation.
It is in silence that we can pick apart these prejudices and incite a change that emanates from ourselves.
And it is with silence that we step aside and give the full vast floor to the voices that deserve to finally be heard.
I would love to hear what you think. Let me know in the comment section below.
original photo by https://www.pexels.com/@rickyrecap
Love this: “When we are quiet, we can listen and we can learn.”