Actions Speak Louder than Words?

Words Matter

I’ve been blessed with a beautiful family, four children and a caring spouse.  Three of the kids are adopted and one biological, each different but all good, caring people.  I am proud of each of them and look forward to their futures.

I grew up in a military family of 7 kids, in primarily white neighborhoods. With parents that were not racist but didn’t overtly change social norms. We were taught to respect everyone but we didn’t experience everyone.  Perhaps we were half “awoke”.          

“Action speaks louder than words” was a major component of my upbringing and respecting each person was brought to all my social interactions.  As I got to college I knew that I wanted a large family of adopted and biological kids. Finding my better half, we started our family and had our 4 within 10 years.  

We’ve experienced racism from many perspectives.  People we did not know telling us how poorly we dealt with our kids; hair, skin and dress.  Others commenting how lucky the kids were because we adopted them, all of this, with our children by our sides.   We tried to handle each situation respectfully and civilly. 

I have had direct racist rants in personal situations that I handled respectfully and civilly, making sure the rant was stopped and the ranter put in their place. However, I never went outside of my circle speaking to inequities in our society.

What have I learned as we experience the BLM journey? I’ve had great open, on-going conversations with my children and then friends about why and what systemic racism is and does to a person. The BLM movement has awakened me and made me realize I am wrong,

WORDS MATTER and can be LOUD.

Actions are great and simple within your social group.  But you need to speak out when there is dis-respect and in-justice, outside of that circle. Systemic, intrinsic racism needs to be exposed and dismantled.  

Ask the questions and provide reasoned answers.  That’s when actions AND words speak LOUDEST!