| “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
– Desmond Tutu |
Given what’s happening in the world, we don’t need another post today about what to eat.
Given that my purpose here is to help people live longer, healthier lives, what this moment calls for is for White people to condemn violence against Black bodies, listen to them, educate ourselves, and step up to help in whatever way we can.
This is not okay
So first, unequivocally and whole-heartedly, I condemn racism and violence against Black people. What should go without saying, that Black lives matter, must be said, loudly and clearly, because Black people are under assault, and they have been for far too long. The brazen murder of George Floyd is just the most recent and a particularly conspicuous example of what has been happening for over 400 years.
Sadly, anti-black racism and violence has long been a problem here in Canada as well as in the United States. And it feels disingenuous to say that without also acknowledging our country’s long and horrific history of mistreatment of Indigenous people. While we’d like to tell ourselves otherwise, racism in Canada is a problem, and it’s obviously not acceptable here either.
Listen, learn, reflect
So what can we do? First, educate ourselves. Especially if you felt some doubt when you read that statement above about Black people being under assault and racism being a problem in Canada too. Especially if these tragic stories in the news still feel like isolated incidents, I invite you to explore some of the following resources. Lord knows we weren’t taught about it in school.
US Focus
- Black Lives Matter database – A collection of how-to, why-to readings on anti-racism
- List of resources focused on race and ethnicity to help on the journey towards diversity, equity, and inclusion, put together by the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
- Anti-racism resources for White People – An extensive list, including resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children, articles, videos, podcasts, books, films, and organizations to follow on social media
- Allyship and Anti-Oppression: A Resource Guide – More reading suggestions, from the TriCollege Libraries.
Canadian Focus
- Racism Against Aboriginal People – University of Toronto collection of articles, film, video, blogs, reports, and websites
- First Peoples, Second Class Treatment – The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Clearly there is no shortage of ways to educate ourselves!
If food and health are of interest to you, you may also appreciate the voices of the Black dietitians, nutritionists, and other healthcare professionals I heard this week thanks to the #amplifymelinatedvoices challenge. Mental health therapist Alishia McCullough, launched the challenge with dietitian and activist, Jessica Wilson. In their words:
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Racial and ethnic diversity is limited in the field of dietetics, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you, like I, didn’t already have any Black dietitians in your social media feeds.
The thing is, by listening to them, we can learn from their lived experience and their wisdom on health and wellbeing. Most have a non-diet, body positive, Health At Every Size (HAES®) perspective, and an understanding that “wellness” is about much more than what goes in a smoothie. If you haven’t already, take a peek.
(I’m sharing their bios so you can see in their words how they describe their feeds. Most are on IG = Instagram.)
Alishia McCullough (IG @blackandembodied) – co-creator of the #amplifymelinatedvoices challenge
- Licensed Mental Health Therapist
✊🏽🌈 Social Justice Warrior
🦋 Promoter of Fat Liberation & Racial Healing
🌻 Trauma Informed ED
Jessica Wilson (IG @jessicawilson.msrd) – co-creator of the #amplifymelinatedvoices challenge
- Dietitian.Consultant.Activist.✊🏽
Centering the experiences of those most marginalized in conversations about food and bodies. #amplifymelanatedvoices
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Ayana Habtemariam MSW, RDN (IG @thetrillrd)
- 🖤 Promoting collective healing from trauma, rejection, and body oppression.
📴 Cert. IE (Intuitive Eating) Counselor
🍽 Cofounder @reclaimingourplate
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Christyna Johnson, MS, RDN, LDN (IG @encouragingdietitian, Twitter @encouragingRD)
- 🥑 Anti-Diet Registered Dietitian
✝️ Christ Follower
✨ Weight Inclusive
🤓 Nutrition NeRD
🎙Intuitive Eating for the Culture
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Rosie Mensah | Dietitian (IG @therosienutritionist, Twitter @rosiemensah)
- 👩🏾💼 I help ambitious women build a healthy & enjoyable relationship with food
🗣 Anti-Poverty Advocate
👉🏾 as seen in @nowtoronto @thetorontostar - A creative spirit, foodie, writer, and a Registered Dietitian
My public health education taught me that Black people were a “high risk” for many chronic illnesses. My public health education did not teach me why. Teaching me why would have revealed the systems of oppression that make Black people a higher risk for premature death.
— Rosie Mensah (@rosiemensah) June 3, 2020
Shana Minei Spence, MS, RDN, CDN (IG @thenutritiontea, Twitter @thenutritiontea)
- Brooklyn, NY📍
#allfoodsfit | #antidietdietitian | #HAES
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This obviously isn’t a complete list. There are so many more! It’s just people creating content that spoke to me, as I begin to diversify my feed and expand my horizons. Full Soul Nutrition & Fitness on IG created a graphical list of Black dietitians and nutritionists, so if you want more, they’re tagged in this post on IG, so you can access them easily.
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But what can we actually do?
For too long, too many of us have heard the news, said “that’s terrible,” and then carried on with our busy days. For too long we’ve lived with the belief that we don’t have the power to change something happening in another country, another city, another neighbourhood.
This moment calls for all of us to step up and recognize that we can, we must, do our part to address racial discrimination, injustice, and violence.
Again, other people have given this way more thought than I have, so I’m just going to link to them here.
- If You Want To Be Anti-Racist, This Non-Optical Allyship Guide Is Required Reading – Writer Mireille Cassandra Harper initially wrote this brief guide on Twitter, then allowed it to be reproduced on British Vogue
- Here’s a collection of links you can use to how to donate, learn, register to vote (US), sign petitions, and help in other ways.
No matter where we live or how far this feels from our daily lives, we can at the very least educate ourselves and our children, speak out against racism, violence, and injustice, and vote for social justice oriented candidates and parties. If you can also protest, sign petitions, and donate to support the people doing the hard work in this, even better. All of our voices are needed.
| “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.”
— Angela Davis |
Comments, questions? Feel free to chime in on Facebook.