This week I’m not releasing an episode, instead I’m participating in the protest Podcast Blackout. The Podcast Blackout protest was started by the Cult 45 movie podcast. What this means is that this week we are not releasing an episode, and instead we are acknowledging the lethal racism that has unjustly killed so many black people.

Rest in peace:

• Trayvon Martin, age 17, 2012 
• Tamir Rice, age 12, 2014 
• Michael Brown, age 18, 2014 
• Eric Garner, age 43, 2014 
• Sandra Bland, age 28, 2015 
• Freddie Gray, age 25, 2015 
• Alton Sterling, age 37, 2016 
• Philando Castile, age 32, 2016 
• Botham Jean, age 26, 2018 
• Atatiana Jefferson, age 28, 2019 
• Ahmaud Arbery, age 25, 2020 

The South African Nobel Peace Prize-winning anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu said: 

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

White people: if you are wondering whether or not you should speak up about this -- let me make it easy for you. You should. 

It is not okay to be silent. Talk to your friends and family. Read about anti-racism and white fragility. Follow people of color and support their businesses. 

So, let me make clear my stance and the stance of this podcast: Black Lives Matter. It’s not enough to say it, we all need to take action - especially other white people. 

Some immediate things we can do:

• To help are to make a donation to an organization working to fight racial inequity like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or the Southern Poverty Law Center, or to a local organization in your community doing work to fight racism 
• To educate ourselves on racism, being an anti-racist and the history and present reality of racial equity in the US. Some books are: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, White Fragility by Robin Diangelo, Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. 
• Follow people of color who are doing the work, and LISTEN: A few examples are Rachel Cargle, Ijeoma Oluo, Layla Saad. 
• Support businesses and causes run by your black neighbors and communities. A great place to look to start here is The Intentionalist. 

My heart is with the families and friends of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the countless other victims of racist killings in the US and beyond. 

Black lives matter.