SECTIONS CLOSE
  • Home
  • Directory
    • Artists
    • Black Youth & Family Services
    • Books
    • Business
    • Films
    • Politicians
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Film & TV
    • Music
    • Stage
  • The Experts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • Money
    • Motivation
    • Parenting
    • Real Estate
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Technology
    • Travel
  • Profiles
    • Artists
    • Business
    • NFP/Charities
    • Personalities
    • Food & Drink
    • Sponsored Profiles
  • The Father Project
    • Fathers Responses
  • Archive
  • Newsletter Archive
    • Subscribe to our Newsletter
  • PCA
    • 2024 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List
    • 2023 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List
    • 2022 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List
    • 2021 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List
    • 2020 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List
    • 2019 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List
    • 2018 ByBlacks.com PCA Winners List
  • Restaurant Week
    • Prix Fixe Menus
      • Prix Fixe Menus - AB
      • Prix Fixe Menus - BC
      • Prix Fixe Menus - NS
      • Prix Fixe Menus - NB
      • Prix Fixe Menus - ON
      • Prix Fixe Menus - PEI
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • FAQs
  • Editorial
  • General
  • Press
  • Privacy
  • Sales
  • User Login

ByBlacks.com | #1 online magazine for Black Canadians

Opinion

Dear White People, I Can't Do Anything With Your Feelings

Dear White People, I Can't Do Anything With Your Feelings
Byron Armstrong By Byron Armstrong
Published on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - 16:56
Picture this. Over the course of several weeks, social media feeds are saturated with images and news of the murders and victimization of Black people. You bristle at the word of them being gunned down in their homes (Breonna Taylor). You watch videos of them being shot in the streets while running, literally, for their lives (Ahmaud Arbery). Closer to home, you read the trial of two off duty police officers who maimed a Black teenager (Dafonte Miller), with a lead pipe will begin, only to be tried in relative silence (the verdict now suspended due to Covid-19 closures).

Then comes the government report that outs the Peel school board’s accounts of systemic racism and discrimination. You witness the blatant attempts of white people to weaponize their negro-phobia in fraudulent calls to the police, so often in fact, that there is a term created to name the phenomenon (Karen-ing). You watch a privileged sea of white people flood a park (Trinity Bellwoods) and picket government buildings (Queens Park & Michigan Capitol) in the middle of a global pandemic, in order to protest “their right” to ignore their civic duty to not willfully infect the rest of us; public health crisis be damned. You shake your head as these people receive a stern finger-wagging from police and public officials. No pepper spray, sound cannons, beatings, tasings, or arrests. At the same time, those same police and public officials have budgeted for the installation of camera surveillance in public spaces in Toronto, of heavily racialized communities.

Then the latest; a black man (George Floyd) dies under the weight of a policeman stealing his life by kneeling on his neck. The imagery is a macabre twist on ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem; an act of protest against police brutality. Then, as you ready yourself for bed, you receive messages from well-meaning white friends and acquaintances, letting you know how horrible all this is. How upset it makes them. You don’t know what you’re supposed to say. “Thanks for that? Yeah, it sure is frustrating being Black sometimes. Have a good night?”

Well now, you’ll never have to worry about that again. Simply copy and paste this form letter into your response, and you’ll never have that awkward issue of managing other folks guilt.

Dear White Friends and/or Well-Intentioned White Acquaintances,

Please stop telling me how horrible you think it is, how awful it makes you feel. I know it is, but you texting me your feelings doesn’t unburden you, nor I, of reality. It corrects no wrongs, nor mends anything broken. Your condolences are not action.

When you look around your office and see that one Black colleague, do you befriend that person? If your office is all white, do you challenge this status quo, and do you advocate for non-white people to be hired? Do you cross the street when you see a Black person walking towards you? Do you clutch your purse tighter, suddenly remember to lock your car door, or wait for the next elevator?

Do you make an effort to understand, or do you deflect, gaslight, or white-splain when issues of equity or racial justice are brought up? Do you instinctively speak over Black people when they're speaking, either at work or in your personal life? Are you even aware of yourself doing that?

Do you call out racism when there are no Black people around to hear or applaud you? Do you seek applause for doing so? Is the theatre of virtue signaling on social media the extent of your consciousness or advocacy?

Your feelings are yours. Your actions are yours. You need to own them either way. I'm not going to applaud you for knowing the difference between right and wrong... but I may applaud you for doing your part to right a wrong.

Sincerely,

(Signed) Your Black Friend and/or Acquaintance

Byron Armstrong is a writer living in Toronto who has been published online and in print, for both local and national publications. He writes essays, short stories, opinion pieces, and in-depth interviews within the sphere of politics, art, design, business, and travel. His general musings can be found on Twitter as @ByronArmstrong6.20200413 ByBlacks Patreon

Last modified on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - 21:50

Featured Directory Listings

  • Hudson Law Office Professional Corporation
    Hudson Law Office...Name: Hudson Law Office Professional Corporation
  • Becoming Institute Inc.
    Becoming Institute...https:/...Name: Becoming Institute Inc.
  • Oya Black Arts Coalition (OBAC)
    Oya Black Arts...https:/...Name: Oya Black Arts Coalition (OBAC)
  • Frontlines TO
    Frontlines TOfrontlines.toName: Frontlines TO
  • Cuisine by Noel - Caterer & Baker
    Cuisine by Noel -...www.cuisinebynoel.co...Name: Cuisine by Noel - Caterer & Baker
  • SEE ALL LISTINGS
  • ANTI BLACK RACISM
  • BYRON ARMSTRONG
  • GEORGE FLOYD
  • AHMAUD ARBERY
Byron Armstrong By Byron Armstrong

Byron Armstrong is a Toronto-based writer who focused on the intersections between art, society, and politics. Byron's reviews, think pieces, and in-depth profiles of creatives, have been published in Cuisine Noir, The Globe and Mail, The National Gallery of Canada Magazine, ELLE Canada, NOW magazine and NUVO. You can find a portfolio of all his work to date at www.byron-armstrong.com.

Latest from Byron Armstrong

  • Oluseye Ogunlesi’s “Black Ark” Reveals Slave Ships Were Built In Canada Among Other Dark Hidden Truths
  • Elon Musk Buying Twitter Isn't A Game Changer—It's Just Gaming The System
  • Ian Kamau's Short Film "We Went Out" Celebrates Toronto's Hip-Hop Scene in the 90s & 00s
  • York U Professor Carl James Receives Prestigious $100,000 Killiam Prize
  • This Black-Owned Spot Mixes Fresh Cuts and Coffee With a Side of Culture in Toronto

MORE IN THIS CATEGORY

The Problem With Ontario's Public Schools
The Problem With Ontario's Public Schools 12 May 2020
How Do I Protect My Son From The Amy Coopers Of The World? 27 May 2020
How Do I Protect My Son From The Amy Coopers Of The World?

RELATED STORIES

Jazz, Mail, And Justice: How Two Black Pioneers Changed Canada’s History

Jazz, Mail, And Justice: How Two Black Pioneers Changed Canada’s History

26 September 2024
Is It Ever A Good Idea To Confront Microaggressions In The Workplace?

Is It Ever A Good Idea To Confront Microaggressions In The Workplace?

27 April 2024
How To Uncringe Your Black History Month Communications

How To Uncringe Your Black History Month Communications

22 February 2024
ByBlacks.com | #1 online magazine for Black Canadians
Magazines Canada
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • FAQs
  • Editorial
  • General
  • Press
  • Privacy
  • Sales
  • User Login
Copyright © 2013 - 2025 ByBlacks.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
developed by Nuevvo