Black Lives Matter.
We here at GeekFamily are grieving over the death of George Floyd, the latest in a too-long list of Black people who have died at the hands of police. We are grieving for communities across the country that are crying out for justice and we are appalled at the way that many police forces have responded with violence toward protestors and media alike.
GeekDad and GeekMom are not news sites—we write about pop culture, gadgets, books, crafts, games, our geeky interests, and our kids. Current events aren’t usually in our purview and we do not typically cover politics. Most of us are white and none of us are Black, so it is important for us not to talk over Black voices. Staying silent is not okay: we want to use the platform we have to support the Black community.
This week’s events are bigger than partisan politics. If we GeekDads and GeekMoms are uncomfortable having this conversation, that discomfort is nothing compared to what Black people are experiencing on a daily basis. We need to call out racism when we see it. We need to work toward personal change, starting with ourselves and then engaging our friends and family. We need to work toward systemic change, putting our energy and time and money into fighting inequity.
To our Black readers: we see you and we support you. You matter. We’re trying to be more attentive about highlighting books and games and shows that are created by and feature people of color, and about critiquing harmful stereotypes when we see them. We will do better. We will work to amplify your stories.
To our non-Black readers: we encourage you to educate yourselves (as we are educating ourselves) before asking Black friends and acquaintances to do the emotional labor of explaining what systemic racism is or why saying “All Lives Matter” is missing the point. Read So You Want to Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo, and Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. Seek out Black voices on social media and just listen to the conversation, and share their experiences with your own followers. Engage in conversations with those who don’t understand how their words cause harm. Support anti-racist organizations financially.
We’ll continue covering our geeky interests here on GeekDad and GeekMom, in the hopes that we can still point you and your kids toward things that you can enjoy during times when you need to recharge and rest, with the understanding that all of us need to work toward a better world for our kids.
–Jonathan H. Liu, on behalf of the GeekFamily team
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