An advocate, defined as a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy, is something I’ve never considered myself. I am slow to speak publically on causes. I’m not particularly eager to get into messy debates, and while I am not passive or unopinionated in person, I preferred the role of peacemaker. Especially online or in lesser-known circles.
If 2020 taught me anything (and well, it’s taught me a lot), it’s not enough to NOT participate in this world’s injustice. We need to be active against the injustice we see in this world. It is not enough to be sad about things; we need to be engaged in making things better. But, there is so much, so much need, so much injustice, so many causes, where do you even start? This pandemic life already has most of us trying to keep our heads above water. The idea of adding more to our already overwhelmed emotional states, well, it feels like too much to ask most days.
Guess what I am learning? We can change the world and make a difference without ever having to leave our homes. It’s not about adding more things to our task list or having to give up lots of time or resources we don’t have. The reality is that we can make small changes in the way we live our everyday lives, and those small changes can have a significant impact.
So, where do we start? For me, it started with Social media; yep, if we are already on social media, we can easily start there. Now, this can be a place that so many of us find stressing us out more often than not. So, before we get into how social media can help us make a difference, let’s start with a random tip for better social media use.
Decide what you want your social media to look like and how it will work for you. You have more control over what you see than you might realize. Did you know that you can block people from your feed without having to unfriend, unsubscribe or make it an issue? Also, what you engage with is what will drive your news feed. You can decide not to engage in the posts that you find draining or prefer not to see more of. But, in turn, do like the posts you find encouraging and even comment often on them, so more similar posts will show up in your news feed. Block out the negative noise and fill your social media with positive vibes.
Once you’ve decided how you want to use it, social media, especially Instagram, can be a great place to connect and learn. If you know someone who is actively engaged in causes you want to learn more about, ask or check out their feed to see who they are following. When it comes to Racial Injustice, I follow and pay attention to people like:
Osheta Moore https://www.instagram.com/oshetamoore/ who is fantastic at helping those of us not black or brown learn better ways to engage as peacemakers and Latasha Morrison, founder of Be The Bridge https://www.instagram.com/latashamorrison/ https://www.instagram.com/bethebridge/ an organization that empowers people towards racial healing, equity, and reconciliation.
Friends like Steph https://www.instagram.com/stephmpage/ co-founder of Stories Foundation https://www.instagram.com/storiesfoundation/
And Elisa https://www.instagram.com/averageadvocate/ founder of Blackout Trafficking https://www.instagram.com/BlackoutTrafficking/ live life as ordinary everyday advocates and are inspiring to follow.
If you are not on social media, never fear; you can always go directly to websites to gather information:
Be The Bridge https://bethebridge.com/.
International Justice Mission https://www.ijm.org/our-work
Stories Foundation https://www.storiesfoundation.org/
Black Out Trafficking https://blackouttrafficking.org/
Racial Injustice and Human Trafficking are only a few of today’s issues. You might find your passion in politics or environmental issues, the foster care system, food insecurities, to name a few more. The idea is rather than be frustrated by the issues connect with advocate friends, local resources and follow their pages or websites to become educated in how you can make a difference. Once you get connected to the resources, you begin to learn that you don’t have to do everything or even big things to make a difference.
For 2021 my personal goal is to do something, even just one small thing, every month. It might be as simple as reading a book about an issue, making a purchase that gives back, supporting a fundraiser, etc.
For January, I subscribed to The Stories Foundation Hive Box. This was a simple way for our family to learn more about trafficking in a child-friendly way and support an amazing organization. You can visit storiesfoundation.org and subscribe or find more resources to help you learn ways small things can make a significant impact.
February is Black History Month. This month I am committed to learning more about black history, noticing and learning from those that can better educate me about racial injustice. There are so many fantastic resources and people we can learn from. If you need a place to start, Dr. Lucretia Berry, founder of https://brownicity.com/, was episode twenty-six on not my story podcast. Check out her website or listen to the podcast episode. https://www.sarahewestfall.com/notmystorypodcast/2020/8/26/episode-13-lucretia-berry
In March, I plan to join with a few of my friends by participating in BlackOut Trafficking. For the entire month of March, people will commit to wearing the same black item every day for thirty days, limiting our freedom to bring freedom to others. Participating doesn’t have to be complicated. Due to Covid and working outside the home, limiting myself to wear the same clothing item isn’t environmentally friendly or practical. So I decided to purchase black earrings and a black bracelet from a socially responsible business https://www.seladesigns.com/ that I will wear every day in March. Then I plan to limit my outfits, rotating a few black items in a way that fits with my routines. If you are interested in joining me to raise awareness, visit https://blackouttrafficking.org/.
Making a difference without ever leaving home has become an enjoyable challenge for me. Pandemic Life may keep us limited in what we can do in person, but not limited in other ways. Technology allows us to remain connected, continue to learn, and find ways to See The Good and Be The Good In Our World. I am thankful for those who have the passion and commitment to do big things outside my experience and comfort zone. Their work means we can all step up, making small changes that add up to make a BIG difference.
If being an advocate is not for you, but you love to shop, join me next week as I share what I am learning about the power we have to make a difference with our shopping habits.
