Those of you who have, over the years while staying up late at night Googling “how to cope with estrangement” or “did I experience childhood abuse?”, stumbled onto my blog.

I want to say something to you, those who were the outcasts of their abusive or dysfunctional family systems, those who were and are the Black Sheep of their families: 

It’s you – it’s US – who, above so many others, should especially stand with Black Lives Matter and really GET some of the unique pains that racism and the lack of collective and active anti-racism work yields. 

It’s US, the Black Sheep of the world, that should be involved in, if not leading the charge, on anti-racism work.

Keep reading to learn why.

If you’re a Black Sheep, here’s why you MUST stand with Black Lives Matter.

So I want to go on the record by saying, as a privileged White woman, I am NOT the expert on articulating the experiences of Black people in America. 

I’m not the first (or even 1 millionth) voice to follow for education on how to be anti-racist. 

I defer to brilliant and powerful thought leaders like Layla F. Saad, Rachel Cargle, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, Rachel Rodgers, and so many more to be the most important voices you listen to.

But I also believe that I have a responsibility as a White woman. With a specific and unique audience that reads my work to add to this conversation. 

To step up, to have an opinion, and to use my small, niched platform to support anti-racism work.

AND what I have to say is informed by what these other brilliant women have shared and taught me in their work. 

So, that end, I want to share with you what happened the other night.

The other night, I was laying in bed listening to Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. 

I had wrapped up a 14-hour day of client and admin work and momming. And, since my 19-month old daughter will now apparently only fall asleep if her dad puts her to bed, I had a spare, precious, and unexpected half hour to myself. 

So, with my heart and mind on the matters occupying so many of us these days, I purchased Me and White Supremacy on Audible and started listening to it.

Five minutes in, I grabbed my notebook.

I grabbed my notebook, not only to do the actual transformative journaling exercises that Layla F. Saad challenges readers to do, but also to make some notes for myself on what was standing out to me.

What stood out to me was this: so many of the experiences and pain points Layla F. Saad talks about that a Black person goes through were akin to what I, as a relational trauma therapist, know that many of my clients could relate to.