As a Black and Jewish woman, I have felt a strong calling to serve the people in my community. This past year I became a full time content creator and quickly learned that doing work in the public eye is not for the faint of heart. Let’s be real: the internet is a complicated space. It can simultaneously be a beautiful hub for connection, while also serving as an unforgiving abyss of hatred.
I have been thinking a lot about to how to build, sustain, and expand healthy community. What does it look like to create robust systems of connection that can stand the test of time, online and off?
This is my biggest takeaway: it’s crucial to move with integrity and intention when you cause harm. Inevitably, we will all make mistakes–big and small. And those mistakes will hurt people. In a moment where cancel culture is en vogue and we extend very little grace to one another, especially online, the prospect of making a mistake can be terrifying.
But it shouldn’t be. Mistakes are how we learn and grow. Instead of operating from a defensive place when called out on an error, this is what I strive to do: 1. Acknowledge the mistake 2. Name the harm caused, or the impact and 3. Work to enact reconciliation.
Being in community with people means there will be conflict–this is unavoidable. The true test of your character is not whether you can avoid conflict, it’s how you move through it. Part of the mission of tikkun olam, or “world repair,” mandates that we handle our communities with the care and love they deserve. And that includes owning our faults.
Raven Schwam-Curtis is a Black, Jewish, and queer educator who centers intersectional histories. @ravenreveals
