To the Protestors in Baltimore and To My Future Students

I come to you as a white woman, a person who has never lost a friend to violence, who has never been profiled based on the color of my skin, a person who has never been afraid of those people who have sworn to serve and protect me.

I come to you as a person who has been taught her whole life to stand up for what she believes, a person who has so often been encouraged to speak out, but a person who is unsure how to do that in this moment.

I come to you conflicted, wondering whether it is my place to say anything at all on what is happening in Baltimore, wondering if I cannot serve you better by simply being quiet and listening.

I come to you so confused about what to say and how to say it, but I also come to you as a person who feels that she must say something, a person who must acknowledge that now is the time for justice and a person who desperately wants to help bring it about.

What I have to say to you, the protestors in Baltimore and in Ferguson and in New York and across the world, and what I have to say to you, my future students, is this:

I am on your side.

I am here and I am listening. I know that my voice is not the one that most needs to be heard in this conversation. I have questioned whether it needs to be heard at all. Surely, a conversation needs to take place, but I know my role in that conversation must first and foremost be to listen to those who have been most affected by pervasive injustice, to those who have lived with it every day of their lives.

Know that I welcome your advice on how to be a better ally. I know I will mess up and that I already have many times, but if there is something I can do better, please tell me. I am listening.

I am listening to you and I am ready to act when you ask me to. I will step back, lower my voice, and listen to your stories and your words. I will stand by you in the protests line. If you tell me there is no seat at the table for me for a particular discussion, I will honor that. When you do invite me to the table, I will come humbly and respectfully and with an open heart.

Until you ask me to speak again, this is the last time I will speak on this subject because I believe so fully that now is a time for me to listen.

To you, my students, I will listen.