密歇根新闻广播 我们不需要白人救世主

 

“We don’t need white saviors.” A Black social worker calls her white colleagues to action.

The COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping¹ through communities of color like a thief in the night, stealing parents, grandparents, children, siblings² and leaving behind grief, trauma³, economic and educational instability. Every day, we have to worry about our health and safety, not only from a deadly virus, but from white people all around us. We wonder if we are safe in our homes, on a jog, at the park, or even while delivering a baby.

Whether dying at the hands of racist⁴ white people or due to systems constructed and upheld by white supremacy⁵ and patriarchy, Black death is something America has normalized.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed how our health and economic systems disproportionately impact African Americans, continuing to oppress us. We have been blamed for our own deaths and for our chronic⁶ illnesses. But African Americans aren’t dying because we are poor. We’re dying because we’re Black.

When we turn to the traditional sources for our health and well-being—social workers, therapists, doctors—we encounter systems not built for us. We experience a health care system rooted in providing us less care, and we stare at white faces.

White people must examine their own implicit⁷ bias⁸ and ensure the Black people who are hurting and fighting have access to mental health services and see themselves represented in the people providing care.

It’s time for white people—especially white social workers, who tend to be women—to listen and act to help end racism⁹. We don’t need white saviors. We need people who will listen to the requests that have come from Black people for so long in the search for Black liberation and act based on what we say we need.

I am aware of the level of responsibility that comes with social work. As a Black woman and mother, I have an even greater responsibility to care for my people and for myself. I have had to learn how to speak up, to not be afraid to voice my opinion and to ask for clarity on policies within complex systems, including the health care and mental health spaces, to be able to properly advocate.

Being the lone¹⁰ voice in a room of powerful and well-intentioned white leaders focusing on issues affecting my community is an even greater responsibility.

It’s exhausting, but it makes me work harder.

It’s time for white social workers, caregivers, doctors, nurses and the entire health care system to work harder. Yes, it’s exhausting, and you are already exhausted¹¹. I understand the bone-weary exhaustion¹² of simply surviving each day. But there is more work to do, and it’s time for you to do it.

Listen. Learn. Mute. Examine. Study. Think. Analyze¹³. You will never understand, and that is OK. But you must act. Thousands of experts around this country are telling you how. It’s overwhelming. It’s daunting¹⁴. It seems too big to tackle.

That’s how I feel in my black skin every day in this country. It is time for you to share the burden of exhaustion and work harder to dismantle¹⁵ our systems from within.

It is time to act.

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

3 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

6 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

7 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

8 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

9 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

10 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

11 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

12 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

13 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

14 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

15 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。