Scroll through social media, and you will be sure to find a million photos of Martin Luther King Jr, dressed up, holding hands with other Black Americans in gorgeous black and white photos. Above or below, Im sure you’ve seen captions that echo the sentiment: This is how protesting is done the correct way.
I am a 70 year old white woman stepping up to learn how to be anti racist. Thank you Austin Channing Brown for providing a map. I am here to learn what I don’t know and to learn how to use my voice. I am committed to listening deeply.
Now in my 40s, I finally realized that I always rebelled in school, at home, and now at work because I was troubling the narrative. The narrative of my own history, disabilities, abuse, exploitation, and existence. It was a difficult journey living in marginalized community and growing up in modern day US colony called Guam. I am a troublemaker and proud of it!
Fence chalk decorating has become a big thing in my family's very home bound life. 'Trouble the narrative' has become a mantra for me recently, and i wanted to share it, so i write it on the street-facing fence. It's quite a conversation starter! Then, I realized i should add Austin's name, then realized I should ask Austin before writing her name, and only then realized i should have asked her before i wrote it on my fence in the first place! This pretty much sums up how my antiracist work is going. Learn, apply, face palm, back at it again.
Finally, Austin, thank you for this. is it ok if i share this on my fence? Is it ok if i share your name?
I was so blown away with hearing you on the Brene Brown podcast that I took 4 pages of notes on my computer and then immediately found you and your work (and now my work) here. So, first of all you are a gift that I need right now. I identify as a gay male who is hispanic and still count myself as in that category of "white" in terms of this bigger story simply because I am NOT black. I'm good with that and learning and sharing this with everyone - especially "white" folks! Thanks a TON and let's heal the world by making humans become even better humans - LOVE - Michael
YES! I also heard Austin on the Brene Brown podcast, and I can't stop reading her material. Austin, thank you for helping a middle-aged white woman like myself understand how I can "trouble the narrative." I have been aware of my white privilege for years, but I am embarrassed to admit that I wasn't sure how to become an anti-racist. I am so thankful for your work and how you and many others I have been reading and listening to have helped me understand how to use my voice.
I see it. The narrative has been perpetuated by men and women who accept the simple and neglect to wrestle with the complex. There are several layers, and the blame rests in different hands. It’s not just black and white, it’s not just capitalist and socialist, it’s not just protest and riot. Thank you for posting and educating. It takes different voices to explain the dilemma - dilemmas surrounding white supremacy. It takes a long time to solve a 1000 piece puzzle.
Hey y'all, just saying hi as a new person. My name is Erin Jean in Austin, TX. My anti-racism work is beginning and I am grateful for Austin's work and the fact that I can do some of it here, in this community. <3
I am a working class white woman of great privilege who is “wading into this decades old conversation” to learn how to “Trouble The Narrative....move beyond simplistic, convenient narratives and wrestle with complexity and nuance.”
I am grateful for the opportunity to support your work in “Roll Call” and “The Next Question” and I don’t want to be that lazy child accepting simple answers.
Thank you for providing my outrage direction to a highway heading towards change.
Just because their were riots in the 60s as a means to change this does not make it right. MLK won over the hearts of people by committing to non-violence. Gandhi did that as well in India to free them from British occupancy. MLK said unequivocally that rioting is self-defeating from a MORAL standpoint and a practical standpoint.
Also, 2 points about what you said about Jesus in the temple courts:
1. Jesus was not violent. He turned over a table and didn't destroy anything or hurt anyone. He scattered the coins on the ground and was indicting them for profiteering off of poor people by making them pay for a "proper" sacrifice.
2. Profiteering is not necessarily capitalism. Profit-seeking happens in every system. Capitalism, socialism, feudalism, etc. etc. Capitalism wasn't even really a concept until the 18th century.
The gospel and Jesus and the apostles make it very clear that riots are an anti-gospel action. The Romans occupied Jewish territory and oppressed them and Jesus was not the political revolutionary that they expected. Matthew 5:44
"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" - Romans 12:17-21
I agree we should all seek justice. It is biblical. But it is in fact the most important to ask what would Jesus do and look to scripture for guidance. If we call Him our Lord, then we should strive to follow in his footsteps. Hope this helps
I’m an ordained minister and have a master degree in social justice. I have my own personal views about all mentioned here and am not interested in debating your interpretations. You seem to have completely missed the point of this post, which is that you do not have all the right answers, all the right interpretations, all the right arguments. I’m not suggesting that asking questions about morality, violence, MLK or Jesus is wrong; I am saying that providing simplistic answers in 3 paragraphs is not as helpful as you might think. Hope this helps.
I am not saying that I have all the right answers but that does not mean that if one does not have "all the right answers, all the right interpretations, [and] all the right arguments" that there is not a more right answer than another. There may not always be perfect solutions but we can (and should) distinguish between constructive solutions and destructive solutions.
Life isn’t that neat, particularly for marginalized people. If this thinking works for you, so be it. But I stand by post that our history isn’t nearly this neat and more importantly I stand by communities who are wrestling with a multitude of solutions.
It is often convenient and easier for us to leave out the fact that when Jesus was clearing the temple (Matthew; Mark; Luke) He fashioned a whip to do so (John 2). No matter how I imagine this scene playing out, it is violent for those on the receiving end. This was no calm request for them to pick up and move to a different location.
As a Mennonite, my people have a long history of peace and anti-violence. But true peace does not come from asking people we oppress to continue to submit. True peace comes from seeking justice, loving mercy, setting the oppressed free.
I do not believe that damage to property or person is God’s desire. HOWEVER, many people forget there are many ways to stop violent riots:
One way, which all too many of my white Christian brothers and sisters have chosen, has been to simply point at those violent protests as ungodly and demand that they stop.
A better way is to humbly acknowledge our complicity in holding up institutions and policies that cause Black suffering and do everything in our power to make it right. Bringing justice WOULD result in violent protests ending. We cannot impose peace if we are not willing to work to make change. Only then can we ask people to choose non-violence.
I find this response patronizing and overly pedantic. We cannot paint Jesus or Dr. King with pretty pastel colors and render them two dimensional. Quoting scripture (out of context, I might add) isn't being "biblical." It is reciting memory verses, like a child in Sunday School. We are called to struggle with scripture. We are called to try to understand its history and its context. The same with Dr. King...Dr. King did not "win" over White America while he was alive. He was demonized by the vast majority of white Americans. We love looking at him with rosy glasses now, but he was reviled. And killed, just like Jesus.
I feel like debating the rightness or wrongness of rebellions is a straw-man debate that covers over the much more needed questions: WHY is there a rebellion? WHY hasn’t this issue been resolved? WHAT don’t people want to talk about, requiring them to redirect the conversation to HOW people are expressing their dissent.
Hi Ms Channing I’m pale, male and perhaps stale and I’ve spent a good deal of time ‘critiquing the narrative’ while comfortably sitting back (because my privilege lets me).
Thank you for the slogan ‘trouble the narrative’ because that is a challenge to me on two levels. Firstly, I live in London among prosperous white friends who are proud of British traditions, achievements and empire history. I have to (politely and respectfully) trouble this narrative. Recent street events around statues will help further that conversation.
Secondly, and in my own head, I have to trouble my own internal narrative around street crime and young BAME people I encounter. Unconscious bias is the hardest to address!
I was just explaining to my daughter that it took King, Malcolm X, Black Panthers, etc. to effect the changes of the 60's. You are so right, it will take many paths and forms to, as you so aptly put it, "trouble the narrative".
The Anti-Racism Task Force I participate in is using a video series called "Trouble the Water". It is a very good beginning for the journey of becoming anti-racist. It was produced by the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America -- PC(USA). Our denomination is trying to get all its congregations to talk about systemic racism.
I a new subscriber. My wife and I both work for public school system in North Carolina. I am so frustrated with people who have sweet simple answers to complex issues, especially in theological circles and churches and schools. Trouble the narrative is with me daily. The best teachers make us think. Jesus made a whip and overturned tables. It may be time we think more deeply about what that means. MLK had affairs and was at times terrible to his wife but he also did do many good things for hurting people (obviously). We all have our issues and it's not easy to separate a person from a person's creative artwork. Thank you for your words! They continue to make me think and that is why you are a great teacher!
I was so excited to see that you have a substack account and I cannot WAIT to dive into your words. Thank you for sharing. Trouble the narrative indeed. I want this to sink deep into my soul. Again and again and again.
I am a 70 year old white woman stepping up to learn how to be anti racist. Thank you Austin Channing Brown for providing a map. I am here to learn what I don’t know and to learn how to use my voice. I am committed to listening deeply.
I would wear a shirt that says Trouble the Narrative! Just an idea... :)
Now in my 40s, I finally realized that I always rebelled in school, at home, and now at work because I was troubling the narrative. The narrative of my own history, disabilities, abuse, exploitation, and existence. It was a difficult journey living in marginalized community and growing up in modern day US colony called Guam. I am a troublemaker and proud of it!
Fence chalk decorating has become a big thing in my family's very home bound life. 'Trouble the narrative' has become a mantra for me recently, and i wanted to share it, so i write it on the street-facing fence. It's quite a conversation starter! Then, I realized i should add Austin's name, then realized I should ask Austin before writing her name, and only then realized i should have asked her before i wrote it on my fence in the first place! This pretty much sums up how my antiracist work is going. Learn, apply, face palm, back at it again.
Finally, Austin, thank you for this. is it ok if i share this on my fence? Is it ok if i share your name?
this was very cute, and absolutely you can <3
Kate - “Learn, apply, face palm, back at it again” is sooo accurate for me too. Learning and unlearning isn’t exactly pretty. 🤦🏽♀️😂❤️
I was so blown away with hearing you on the Brene Brown podcast that I took 4 pages of notes on my computer and then immediately found you and your work (and now my work) here. So, first of all you are a gift that I need right now. I identify as a gay male who is hispanic and still count myself as in that category of "white" in terms of this bigger story simply because I am NOT black. I'm good with that and learning and sharing this with everyone - especially "white" folks! Thanks a TON and let's heal the world by making humans become even better humans - LOVE - Michael
YES! I also heard Austin on the Brene Brown podcast, and I can't stop reading her material. Austin, thank you for helping a middle-aged white woman like myself understand how I can "trouble the narrative." I have been aware of my white privilege for years, but I am embarrassed to admit that I wasn't sure how to become an anti-racist. I am so thankful for your work and how you and many others I have been reading and listening to have helped me understand how to use my voice.
I see it. The narrative has been perpetuated by men and women who accept the simple and neglect to wrestle with the complex. There are several layers, and the blame rests in different hands. It’s not just black and white, it’s not just capitalist and socialist, it’s not just protest and riot. Thank you for posting and educating. It takes different voices to explain the dilemma - dilemmas surrounding white supremacy. It takes a long time to solve a 1000 piece puzzle.
Hey y'all, just saying hi as a new person. My name is Erin Jean in Austin, TX. My anti-racism work is beginning and I am grateful for Austin's work and the fact that I can do some of it here, in this community. <3
Welcome Erin Jean!
Hi! I’m in San Antonio and have done some work with the beautiful community in Austin.
Hi Austin,
I am a working class white woman of great privilege who is “wading into this decades old conversation” to learn how to “Trouble The Narrative....move beyond simplistic, convenient narratives and wrestle with complexity and nuance.”
I am grateful for the opportunity to support your work in “Roll Call” and “The Next Question” and I don’t want to be that lazy child accepting simple answers.
Thank you for providing my outrage direction to a highway heading towards change.
Just because their were riots in the 60s as a means to change this does not make it right. MLK won over the hearts of people by committing to non-violence. Gandhi did that as well in India to free them from British occupancy. MLK said unequivocally that rioting is self-defeating from a MORAL standpoint and a practical standpoint.
Also, 2 points about what you said about Jesus in the temple courts:
1. Jesus was not violent. He turned over a table and didn't destroy anything or hurt anyone. He scattered the coins on the ground and was indicting them for profiteering off of poor people by making them pay for a "proper" sacrifice.
2. Profiteering is not necessarily capitalism. Profit-seeking happens in every system. Capitalism, socialism, feudalism, etc. etc. Capitalism wasn't even really a concept until the 18th century.
The gospel and Jesus and the apostles make it very clear that riots are an anti-gospel action. The Romans occupied Jewish territory and oppressed them and Jesus was not the political revolutionary that they expected. Matthew 5:44
"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" - Romans 12:17-21
I agree we should all seek justice. It is biblical. But it is in fact the most important to ask what would Jesus do and look to scripture for guidance. If we call Him our Lord, then we should strive to follow in his footsteps. Hope this helps
I’m an ordained minister and have a master degree in social justice. I have my own personal views about all mentioned here and am not interested in debating your interpretations. You seem to have completely missed the point of this post, which is that you do not have all the right answers, all the right interpretations, all the right arguments. I’m not suggesting that asking questions about morality, violence, MLK or Jesus is wrong; I am saying that providing simplistic answers in 3 paragraphs is not as helpful as you might think. Hope this helps.
I am not saying that I have all the right answers but that does not mean that if one does not have "all the right answers, all the right interpretations, [and] all the right arguments" that there is not a more right answer than another. There may not always be perfect solutions but we can (and should) distinguish between constructive solutions and destructive solutions.
Life isn’t that neat, particularly for marginalized people. If this thinking works for you, so be it. But I stand by post that our history isn’t nearly this neat and more importantly I stand by communities who are wrestling with a multitude of solutions.
It is often convenient and easier for us to leave out the fact that when Jesus was clearing the temple (Matthew; Mark; Luke) He fashioned a whip to do so (John 2). No matter how I imagine this scene playing out, it is violent for those on the receiving end. This was no calm request for them to pick up and move to a different location.
As a Mennonite, my people have a long history of peace and anti-violence. But true peace does not come from asking people we oppress to continue to submit. True peace comes from seeking justice, loving mercy, setting the oppressed free.
I do not believe that damage to property or person is God’s desire. HOWEVER, many people forget there are many ways to stop violent riots:
One way, which all too many of my white Christian brothers and sisters have chosen, has been to simply point at those violent protests as ungodly and demand that they stop.
A better way is to humbly acknowledge our complicity in holding up institutions and policies that cause Black suffering and do everything in our power to make it right. Bringing justice WOULD result in violent protests ending. We cannot impose peace if we are not willing to work to make change. Only then can we ask people to choose non-violence.
I find this response patronizing and overly pedantic. We cannot paint Jesus or Dr. King with pretty pastel colors and render them two dimensional. Quoting scripture (out of context, I might add) isn't being "biblical." It is reciting memory verses, like a child in Sunday School. We are called to struggle with scripture. We are called to try to understand its history and its context. The same with Dr. King...Dr. King did not "win" over White America while he was alive. He was demonized by the vast majority of white Americans. We love looking at him with rosy glasses now, but he was reviled. And killed, just like Jesus.
I feel like debating the rightness or wrongness of rebellions is a straw-man debate that covers over the much more needed questions: WHY is there a rebellion? WHY hasn’t this issue been resolved? WHAT don’t people want to talk about, requiring them to redirect the conversation to HOW people are expressing their dissent.
Hi Ms Channing I’m pale, male and perhaps stale and I’ve spent a good deal of time ‘critiquing the narrative’ while comfortably sitting back (because my privilege lets me).
Thank you for the slogan ‘trouble the narrative’ because that is a challenge to me on two levels. Firstly, I live in London among prosperous white friends who are proud of British traditions, achievements and empire history. I have to (politely and respectfully) trouble this narrative. Recent street events around statues will help further that conversation.
Secondly, and in my own head, I have to trouble my own internal narrative around street crime and young BAME people I encounter. Unconscious bias is the hardest to address!
I'm with you, Bernard. Across the pond and a woman, but still. I'm stepping forward from critiquing the narrative to troubling it.
I have a long way to go as a white woman but am ready to trouble the narrative.
I was just explaining to my daughter that it took King, Malcolm X, Black Panthers, etc. to effect the changes of the 60's. You are so right, it will take many paths and forms to, as you so aptly put it, "trouble the narrative".
The Anti-Racism Task Force I participate in is using a video series called "Trouble the Water". It is a very good beginning for the journey of becoming anti-racist. It was produced by the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America -- PC(USA). Our denomination is trying to get all its congregations to talk about systemic racism.
I a new subscriber. My wife and I both work for public school system in North Carolina. I am so frustrated with people who have sweet simple answers to complex issues, especially in theological circles and churches and schools. Trouble the narrative is with me daily. The best teachers make us think. Jesus made a whip and overturned tables. It may be time we think more deeply about what that means. MLK had affairs and was at times terrible to his wife but he also did do many good things for hurting people (obviously). We all have our issues and it's not easy to separate a person from a person's creative artwork. Thank you for your words! They continue to make me think and that is why you are a great teacher!
I was so excited to see that you have a substack account and I cannot WAIT to dive into your words. Thank you for sharing. Trouble the narrative indeed. I want this to sink deep into my soul. Again and again and again.
Thank you for encouraging us to trouble the narrative. And I’m digging the tattoo idea...