“It started with the uprisings over George Floyd’s death last summer,” says Madeline Mahon, founder and director of Promote Anti- Racism St. Pete.
“I wanted to find a way to show solidarity and support for people who, like myself, were unable to attend the protests. I ordered a 10 pack of BLM signs from Signs of Justice, and offered the remainder on NextDoor for free. Due to the amount of interest, I started raising money to fund a variety of signs while continuing to offer them for free or donation.”
Listen and learn
Madeline has been busy. So many of us have felt hopeless over the past year, recognizing the rot of racism in our country, but unsure what to do about it. Allyship is often seen as passive, but Madeline has taken an active role, while continuing to educate herself and expand her comprehension. “By listening to Black anti-racism educators, I began learning and considering what more I could do, as a white woman, to help support the movement for racial justice,” she says.
“This led me to begin partnering with one of the sign recipients, Kayla Brown, to create a small library of books by BIPOC authors that we could lend to anyone who wanted to work on their ant-racism journey (no matter if they were new to the work or been engaged in it for a while). At the time, libraries were also closed due to Covid. Early on, I had given some signs to Rev. Andy Oliver at Allendale United Methodist Church, and he generously offered us space at the church to use.”
As Promote Anti-Racism St. Pete took off on Nextdoor and Instagram, they linked up with other like-minded groups, donating signs to local activist groups like Tampa People’s Protest and Black Lives Matter Pasco, and handing them out at Roll to the Polls events, organized by the Carter G. Woodson Museum.
Dismantling white supremacy
“We’re like a free gateway into the movement for those who don’t know where to begin or how to get involved,” Madeline says of the group. “We would love to see more people (white people especially) putting in the time, effort, and work to read the books. This, in turn, helps to begin to dismantle white supremacist behavior and biases, unconscious and overt, and allows you to bring those tools and knowledge to actively engage with local BIPOC-led organizations who are tirelessly working to better St. Pete for all. Our goal is to continue to recruit and direct locals, as long as the grassroots organizations are still doing the groundwork.”
“If you’re new to anti-racism work,” she continues, “and need help figuring out next steps and/or new to the area and looking for ways to get involved in St. Pete, we can offer you a free anti-racism sign, free book rentals from a library with over 35 titles, and direct you to resources, education, organizations, events, and joy.”
“We welcome volunteers who are actively dismantling white supremacy in their life, and who want to offer their time to host the library and/or have ideas on how to build additional supportive background initiatives to engage more people, without trampling on/ taking over any BIPOC-led work. Also even just sharing our posts on Instagram is helpful!”
Thanks so much to Madeline Mahon, and co-founder Kayla Brown, for bringing Promote Anti-Racism to St. Pete! To stay up-to-date on their initiatives and events, follow Promo Anti-Racism St. Pete on Facebook and Instagram, @promoteantiracismstpete, or email [email protected]. They currently have a GoFundMe set up to support their work, and also accept cash and check donations.
