I think I have made this clear over time, but I believe in inspiration. I definitely believe that you can pray for and receive guidance.
That being said, putting in the work and not expecting things to be handed to you is a way of demonstrating your commitment and faith.
So, you have committed to fighting white supremacy: you know that can involve many different activities and you are looking for where to start. It is reasonable to start with an inventory of your current opportunities and abilities.
Maybe you currently have a job or activities where you are out in public a lot. The pandemic is keeping a lot of people closer to home, so that makes your position somewhat unique. A good first step might be to make a point of paying more attention to the people around you. How many people of color do you see? What kind of interactions do you observe?
Maybe at some point you will notice an incident of harassment, and can say something. Maybe you will notice police that have stopped a Black man, and you can film it. Sometimes abuse happens because it is believed to be acceptable enough not to be questioned. Having someone watching can change the dynamics.
Maybe you are fluent in Spanish or Russian or another language that is spoken by a local immigrant population. That can have some very obvious volunteer activities.
If you have legal training, there are many options for putting that to use.
I am going to recommend another book here, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative:
There is also a movie. One thing I found in the book was an example of how systemic racism in the justice system acts as a form of social control.
Not every EJI client is innocent, but a main case that is followed in the book is that of Walter McMillan, released after several years on death row. Not only did he not commit the crime, but because of a fish fry that was happening at his house at the time of the murder, there were many witnesses that he could not have been the murderer. They knew his truck could not have been at the scene of the crime because he was working on it and they saw him working on it.
That their sure knowledge did not matter was demoralizing. Black parents may be used to drilling their children on how to do everything right to stay out of trouble, but these parents received brutal instruction that it was not enough.
Stevenson alternates McMillan's tale with other cases and types of cases, showing many flaws in the system, but also calls on the reader to join the fight. There are ideas for ways to get involved at the web site.
The book can also be helpful if you have not yet come to terms with the need to help. Readers of this blog are mainly white, and mainly LDS. For much of your life it has probably been pretty easy to believe that the establishment is good, that our laws are administered in a just manner, and that things normally go well for you if you are doing the right thing. It can be difficult -- and horrifying -- to encounter the gulf between what you thought and what you are learning.
Don't get bogged down in the horror and guilt; that doesn't help anyone. Remember, you are here because you are committed to helping.
EJI is just one organization addressing one area -- the legal system -- in one way -- the courts. That is an oversimplification, but the point to take from it is that there are other areas that can be addressed through other means.
An additional point, is that it is highly probable that for all of the other potential arenas for your part of the fight, there is probably already at least one organization working on it, with people who have been in the fight longer.
Don't go Christopher Columbus-ing all over other people with your newfound consciousness. It's not just rude; it can also be ineffective and even dangerous if you go charging out into unfamiliar territory without knowing much about it.
You have probably noticed that this post doesn't lay out a path for you, but I hope it does give some ideas. I want to circle back to the inspiration part.
There may be times when all logic points to one path, and yet you are called to another. Sometimes there are things you can't know.
I knew a man on my mission who was fluent in Spanish, and had family ties there. He was sure he would use that on his mission, and then got called to Wales, I think. That seemed wrong, but then he found an Spanish-speaking immigrant community. (See, we think immigration only happens in the United States. We are wrong about so many things!) He was able to serve them, and know that he was in exactly the right place at the right time.
Listening to the Spirit takes some work, but it is the most valuable skill, especially if you want to do good.
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