As I watched tweet after tweet and post after post roll in, I felt a lot of things — anger, sadness, empathy, and ultimately an overwhelming sense to do something about what I was reading. But how do you combat misogyny and hate and assault? Well, I don't know the right answer to this. Or even if there is one specific right answer. But I can tell you what our next step as a team at Just About Write was: to elevate women and, in particular, women of color this week.
A woman of color began the #metoo movement, and her name isn't associated with it. That's intensely maddening. And unfortunately it is also all-too commonplace. So instead of erasing women of color from our world's narratives like so many do, we're elevating them. (There are a few white women in this article who have impacted and inspired us recently as well, but you'll mostly find women of color who are shining lights into their communities and using their talents to make the world a better place.)
Most of us here are white, and we recognize that we are privileged. And that means we can step aside and use our platform to make sure that others are elevated. That's what #LadiesSupportingLadies is all about: a way for us to give the mic we have been handed by society over to someone else who deserves to be heard. We are not perfect. I'm the first to admit that I am constantly trying to approach life from a posture that is willing to learn. And I'm thankful for women of color, queer women, trans women, disabled women, and more for continuing to tell their stories. We need them. We need you.
So join us as we discuss women who have changed our lives and are changing countless others' around the world.
