MY LIFE Matters - 20

Metastatic and Black

WHITE ALLYSHIP

"Progress Moves at the Speed
of Trust." That is where we
need to START. We can't fix
anything unless the trust is
there first. We have betrayed
our black brothers and sisters
long enough. It's time to go
back to basics.
- Lesley Kailani Glenn

1. I have black friends who also have a MBC diagnosis
like myself. Their lives matter, there is no difference
between my black sisters and myself. The disparities
that exist for them are unfair, unjust, unnecessary
and avoidable.
2. I identify as a BIPOC, Native Hawaiian, whose
population has not really been studied, yet the rates
of BC diagnoses are rising.
3. I sit at the table alongside them in various initiatives,
committees and organizations such the Metastatic
Breast Cancer Alliance, The Right Dose Initiative,
The to be named clinical trial initiative that addresses the barriers in the black community with
the MBCA, and I am a baddie Ambassador with
For the Breast Of US.
4. I write these words in support for my sisters.
Q: How can other non-black people get involved
with ending systemic barriers for black women
and reduce the mortality rate for black women
with breast cancer today?
A: Education, Education , Education. But along with
education, there comes the responsibility of now knowing, putting action to what has been learned and modeling
the change that needs to happen all across the board in
white identifying population groups. As a Native Hawaiian
BIPOC, I primarily identify as white, having been raised by
a white mother, and growing up in an island system where
back in the 70's and 80's, the white way was the right way.
Things have changed since then, welcoming and embracing

METASTATIC CANCERS
OCTOBER 2020

the Hawaiian culture. I think there is a unfair preference
for the Hawaiian culture over the African American black
culture, as people have.
I recently watched Power Project on Netf lix. In it, the
daughter of the character played by Jamie Fox was kidnapped for her genes that were found to carry special
powers. The kidnappers were white. The main mind
behind the kidnapping was played by a woman. When
she confronted Jamie Fox's character she reminded him
of Henrietta Lacks, and how they used her genes for the
good of humanity and this is what they were trying to
do with his daughter. It was a blatant reminder of the
mistrust that the black community has for the white
population.
I heard a quote recently from an AmberGlover : "Progress Moves at the Speed of Trust."
That is where we need to START. We can't fix anything unless the trust is there first. We have betrayed
our black brothers and sisters long enough. It's time to
go back to basics.
Trust vs. Mistrust: Trust vs. mistrust is the first stage
in Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. ...
If the care the infant receives is consistent, predictable
and reliable, they will develop a sense of trust which will
carry with them to other relationships. Lets start there! l

SOURCES

https://guides.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/c.php?g=285382&p=1900870
https://www.lbbc.org/programs-events/knowledge-power-understanding-black-breast-cancer
https://www.gazettenet.com/Dear-white-people-Being-an-ally-isn-t-always-what-you-think-34788831
https://www.keep-a-breast.org/black-lives-matter
https://apnews.com/e5360cf30bd8a42400e01dc0513edd92

https://guides.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/c.php?g=285382&p=1900870 https://www.lbbc.org/programs-events/knowledge-power-understanding-black-breast-cancer https://www.gazettenet.com/dear-white-people-being-an-ally-isn-t-always-what-you-think-34788831 https://www.keep-a-breast.org/black-lives-matter https://www.apnews.com/e5360cf30bd8a42400e01dc0513edd92

MY LIFE Matters

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