DAY 29: Give up not taking action in the face of racism in public spaces
We shared recently how silence in the face of racism is not neutral. The same is true for not taking action in the face of public acts of racism.
Taking action publicly is part of bystander intervention. We are interested in supporting a nonviolent approach, which for us means centering the needs of the person who is being targeted and treating all parties as humanely as possible.
A 2017 campaign done by the City of Boston, in the United States demonstrates many of the principles we find valuable for nonviolent bystander intervention.
TIP: When you witness an act of racism, give your attention to the person who is targeted by the act. Ask questions and make statements that are centered around giving them as much choice as possible and interrupting the harm.
You can say, “I’m so sorry this is happening to you. Is there anything I can do to help.”
You can choose to put yourself between them and the harasser using your body or by creating distance between the doer and the receiver of the act.
You can ask for help from others.
You can cause a distraction to help distract the focus of the doer of the act.
In all cases, we invite you to choose interventions so that your engagement is minimal with the doer of the harm and that you are supporting the person who is the receiver. We invite you to take action so that those of us who are often targets of that behaviour know that we are not alone in those moments.
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