Below are a few quote from Martin Luther King Jr's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail":
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people"
"'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
White silence - when people with white privilege stay complicity silent when it comes to issues of race and white supremacy
How have you stayed silent when it comes to race and racism?
I do not think I have had many personal events where I've had the opportunity to interject and not done so. The guy at the grocery store certainly stands out as one prime example where I did not interact, but it has sparked an energy to digest much more material on the topic to be better equipped to try and act differently next time.
What types of situations elicit the most white silence from you?
If someone is in my face I immediately recoil when it comes to conversations about race. I freeze. Over the past couple days as these prompts continue, I think I have been more prone to opening up with people I know. I still have yet to open up outside my comfort zone.
How has your silence been complicit in upholding racist behavior?
I have done nothing to displace the current system that is in place by protesting, communicating with local or state representatives, or by trying to actively put myself into scenarios where I could be proactive. By merely doing nothing I continue to uphold the status quo.
How do you benefit from white silence?
It keeps my mental space calm. I'm privileged to sit with a cup of coffee on the patio and tend to the garden. The angst that isn't there when I'm pulled over. Also, that being said, I've only been pulled over twice in my life. It's more along the lines of I default to: I'm being looked out for, and the police are protecting me. Both my physical state and mental capacity have benefited from being silent and not attempting to disrupt the status quo.