When George Floyd was killed, people began hitting the streets in protest. And I started to stir from a long slumber – the sleepy comfort of not knowing what I did not know.
Perhaps like you, I started making phone calls, asking questions, having deep and sometimes difficult conversations with black friends around the world. Some of them challenged my good intentions: “The time for listening is over, Katherine. What are you going to do?” I started to study and learn. And I started to listen… to that deep knowing we all have inside of the next right action to take.
This conversation is the result of what I heard.
The three men who speak here – all dear friends of mine – come from three differnet countries (USA, UK and South Africa). So they share three different experiences of what it means to be a black man in this world. They have generously agreed to let us learn from them as they learn from each other, finding their differences and their commonalities in conversation.
I hope you learn something here that shifts your perception and moves you to action. Because it should go without saying, #blacklivesmatter.
“What can I do?”
That slightly rhetorical question many of us have been holding in our hearts needs an answer now. And it’s not an easy one to answer.
Leonard Bernstein’s response to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 was:
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
Each of you will have to decide what that looks like for you, but I believe it includes three elements:
- Keep showing up in your own life for what matters to you.
- Do what you know how to do, do it well and do it with love.
- Keep engaging in conversations like this one.
Pay it forward.
If this conversation speaks to you in some way, leave a comment. If it moves you, please share it with someone you know. And if you want me to let you know about future conversations – including group discussions with our panelists – please let me know.
Hello Katherine! I would like to know about future discussions and I will continue to share this interview you’ve done. It speaks to me and I know it will speak to others.
Thank you, Amanda, for your words. I’ll definitely keep you informed. The men are all keen to do more. And thank you for sharing… that means a lot to us all.
Hello Katherine, I am half way through the interview and I will listen to the rest because I am so captivated and moved by these fellows and their stories. I realize like you it is the time to listen and to act in whatever way we can. Thank you Katherine for giving a forum for dialogue. And thank you to your young men who are wonderful story tellers.
Dear Mary, thank you for taking time to watch and to share your feeling. I’m so glad this speaks to you. We are already getting ready for the second conversation. So please stay tuned!