Living the Pledge

To incorporate the Pledge to End Racism into your life takes commitment and intention. Signing the pledge is the first step. These next five steps will make it a part of you:

1. Print out the pledge and tape it to your mirror or the back of your phone. Make it visible to you in some way so that you read it every day.

2. Commit to reading one book, seeing one film, or attending one workshop/talk that addresses race and racism every month.

3. Participate in a Living the Pledge workshop.

4. Start a journal where you write down racial situations you encounter in your day-to-day life — at work, in your family, with your friends — and how you respond to them. If you’re not happy with your response, reflect on ways you might respond differently in the future.

5. Identify one issue that disproportionately affects people of color in your community that you’d like to learn more about. Examples might mass transportation, housing, immigration, incarceration, and police relations. Seek out information about this topic. Attend community forums, read newspaper accounts, talk with people in your neighborhood, and then get involved.