We mark our lives by milestones, accomplishments, tragedies, and other significant events. Many times the actual dates escape us, but the feelings stay with us and are triggered by sounds, smells, phrases, or names. George Floyd. Black Lives Matter. Those moments mark the awakening of my conscience to the privileges I hold.

Kamala Harris running for office is another milestone for me. I knew, especially after Hillary Clinton, that we were finally going to elect a female president. She was the perfect candidate who checked all the boxes that Hillary didn’t. Black. Young. Her running mate spoke about IVF and about his son’s “superpowers.” Add to that the support across states for abortion rights.

And, yet, I cried on the night of November 5th out of disbelief, shock, anger, and fear. I’m hopeful this newsletter will be another milestone. The start of something powerful and positive for those who aren’t afforded the same opportunities or benefit of the doubt as I am because of my privileges.

My intent is to build a community focused on sharing resources, knowledge, connections, and events to support the marginalized groups who, I fear, will continue to lose the rights and freedoms they fought so hard and long for.

This is a start, and I welcome feedback and ideas. The name is Learning For Good…I’ve learned the importance of listening and doing my own research as an ally. And, I know learning isn’t enough. So, LFG - let’s fucking go!

In Allyship,
Natalie

These three books have had the most impact on me and my understanding of white privilege. As hard as The Sun Does Shine is to believe, Austin Channing Brown reiterates that I must believe their stories. It is not my lived experience, it’s theirs.

These virtual events are election related. Moving forward I’d like to feature engagements that support immigrant, Black, non-Christian, female, underprivileged, and others more directly. If you know of any, please share!