My name is Amara, and I’ve been a SURJ Circle leader for the past year because I want this country to be a place where all people are welcomed and safe — and I know we can’t get there unless white people take action.
SURJ Circles are small, in-person organizing groups that meet monthly to strengthen our organizing skills and take coordinated local actions that move our campaigns forward and grow our movement. I joined my Circle because of election results, but the focus on relationships — along with a culture where I can bring my ideas, perspective, and strengths while receiving coaching and guidance — is why I stay.
Since we began, our Atlanta Circle (alongside others across the country) has been bringing in thousands of white people to take antiracist action. Will you donate to support SURJ Circles today so we can continue to develop antiracist white leaders like me across the country?
A few months ago, as our elections Circle met, I overheard group members expressing anxiety about door-knocking because none of them had done it before. The group discussed whether it was an important tactic for them to take on, and shared their anxieties and doubts — but then I heard someone speak up and say, “I’m here because Amara invited me, so I’m going to go door-knocking because I want to invite people into what we’re doing just like I was invited in.” The other members committed to join him.
Our Circle has hosted multiple local mass meetings bringing in hundreds of people, and our members continue to step into bigger and bigger leadership roles, like hosting their own Circles or playing key roles at marches and local actions. But that moment a few months back was special because that’s what organizing is all about.
Here at SURJ, we’re inviting other white people into an organization where they can take action on their values so that all of us, white, Black, and Brown, can live in safety and dignity.
Will you make a financial gift so we can strengthen and build more Circles just like mine and invite other white people to take action with SURJ?
In solidarity,
Amara, SURJ Atlanta
Showing Up for Racial Justice
PO Box 1376
Buffalo, NY 14205
United States