Episode 154 Equipped With Crampons

Two weeks after our 20-inch snow storm, the snow has been walked on, patted down, rained on, thawed and frozen over once again. My snowy path has transformed into an icy, crunchy, crusty, frozen path. Thank goodness for a pair of crampons a friend gave me about a month ago. It reminds me of putting on an old pair of galoshes, those rubber overshoes to protect our feet from rain. My new crampons have a rubber outline that fits over my boots, with spiked iron chains that cover the sole of my boot to prevent me from slipping on ice and snow. How appropriate for this week’s journaling from Layla Saad’s book “Me and White Supremacy” which focused on white apathy, white centering, tokenism, white savior-ism and optical allyship.

The work of anti-racism and these terms can be as precarious as the icy, crunchy, frozen path I traverse. We use excuses of tiredness, procrastination, overwhelm and fear to avoid engaging in anti-racism practices, like we use excuses to avoid walking in these winter conditions. We find ourselves numb from another black person murdered by police brutality, or opting out of doing the inner work because we are overly sensitive. Both the path of anti-racism and this frozen path are tricky and pull us out of our comfort zone, however each offers healing and beauty, we would otherwise miss out on. We can equip ourselves with resources, so please throw on your crampons, and take a winter walk with me! What we first deemed treacherous is now manageable and worth every step of the journey!

I am equipping myself with courage and crampons, for this frozen path has much to teach me. After all, beneath the layers of crusty, snow and ice, lies the promise of spring! Even though the thick layers of winter snow and ice prevent us from seeing all the seeds of spring that lay below the surface, may we trust in a world that will thaw and transform our racism. As the earth begins to warm up and everything begins to grow, may our hearts warm up so we can cultivate racial healing, equity and justice.

Check out the show notes for links to books and movies referenced.

Links:
“Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad
Good Ancestor Podcast
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
How to Be an AntiRascist by Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
White Rage by Carol Anderson
Make Change by Shaun King
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
One Night in Miami
Judas and the Black Messiah
The 2 Killings of Sam Cooke