I woke up this morning thinking about #blacklivesmatter and I couldn’t get my mind off the subject. If you’re anything like me (aka a human with even the smallest amount of compassion and empathy), I’m sure you’ve been thinking about it too. And you’ve probably been feeling similarly helpless as you watch the news updates roll in and feel the swell of outrage from your friends on social media.

#blacklivesmatter is acutely real to me, made even more visceral by the fact that my boyfriend is African-American. I asked him yesterday whether hearing about yet another murder of a black man by the police made him afraid to leave the house. “No,” he said, “It just makes me more angry.”

If you’re feeling the whole spectrum of emotions — from fear to rage to confusion to helplessness — you are not alone. I sat down on my couch to make this video about what we can actually do in the face of so much ugliness. I hope that it inspires you to get involved and be part of the change that we want to see.

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyU05p8aDb4[/embedyt]
 

Love and awareness,

P.S. These ideas are gleaned from a number of sources, including the Washington Post, Huffington Post and Mic.