Are you committed to eliminating racism?

My show was basically on hiatus for a few years for a number of reasons. I loved bringing people on that I felt represented the best part of humanity and I know many of you enjoyed it as well because you tuned in over the years so I’m back.

“Racists Anonymous,” my next show which will air on March 22nd was taped over a year ago. Dr. Kitty Oliver, an author, historian, producer, and founder of the cross-cultural Race and Change Oral History Archive, the largest of its kind in size and scope, housed in Special Collections at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center, told me about the work of Pastor Ron Buford and sent me a link to Racists Anonymous website. I believe Pastor Ron’s idea of modeling Racists Anonymous after the 12-Step Alcoholic Anonymous program is a brilliant and simple direct way to end racism in our lifetime.

America has yet to come to terms with being accountable for its behavior and treatment of people of color. Republicans across the country are working to rewrite history and institute laws so that white children will not have to learn about the horrors of slavery or be confronted with the quite horrific and inhumane treatment we “white folks” have bestowed upon people of color. Some white people say there is no racism and such people would be ignorant deniers in my opinion. Other white people admit there is a problem but believe they are not the problem themselves. That thinking is an example of another kind of denial because the problem lies within each of us.

There are also haters, the hardcore race addicts who feel that their country is being taken away from them, that they are being replaced and they want to hold on to their white power through any means necessary. This would be a lie. There is room for all of us to prosper and grow. There are also those who will not tolerate racism and injustice of any kind and who are taking action to fight the injustice. It will take introspection and the knowledge that racism is a complex, multilayered issue which needs our acceptance of the fact that each of us plays a role in keeping systemic racism intact.

Most of us feel overwhelmed by the race problem. We think I’m one person what can I possibly do? Racists Anonymous is the answer to what you can do. You can only change yourself. Shifting individual consciousness can spread throughout our country and out and into the world. Love heals and reverberates as quickly as hate does. Racism is a curable disease but in order to eliminate racism we have to be willing to admit that the problem exists.

Voter suppression is taking place across our country. There is racial, economic, and healthcare injustice impacting people of color, immigrants, the LGBT community, and poor and immigrant populations. Republican legislators no longer hide the fact that they pay allegiance to white supremacy and to Putin who has waged a brutal war on Ukraine and has murdered thousands of innocent people, and children without regard. The fighting spirit of the Ukraine people and their leadership is fighting to the death to maintain the ideals of democracy. Ukraine is walking our “talk” and doing it with more integrity and unity than we have ever displayed.

So, this is a wake-up call, a request I’m making to good people everywhere. No matter what color your skin is or what religion you are, regardless of your economic standing or level of education open your heart to the possibility that you can eliminate racism by exploring your personal beliefs with ruthless honesty and taking necessary action to shift them. Look at your neighborhood? Is it all white? All black? All Christian or Jewish? Do you resent Muslim people, Asian people, Black People, White people, Latin people, Immigrants, or LGBT? Who do you mistrust and why? Who do you fear and why? It is only through honest self-examination and taking responsibility for your thoughts and feelings which can make this a better world for future generations. Find a Racists Anonymous meeting in your area by going to http://rainternational.org/ and be the change you wish to see.