Source: Meriel Jane Waissman / Getty
Y‘all know people of color don’t ask for much. But on this blessed day, the world has received a potential answer to at least one of the biggest white allyship prayers. It’s name is the White Nonsense Roundup.
“If a white person is filling your social media with white nonsense―anything from overt racism to well-intentioned problematic statements, tag us and a white person will come roundup our own,” the group’s Facebook post reads.
Layla Tromble and Terri Kompton founded the volunteer Facebook group for white people to respond to racist trolls online at the request of people of color. Since its creation in July 2016, it has gained well over 110 thousand followers.
“It’s the responsibility of us white folks to do the emotional labor that’s required to educate other white folks―and it shouldn’t be required of people of color again and again,” Tromble told HuffPost. “One of the goals of the service is to do some of that labor for people. Let them go have a drink and not worry about nonsense going on on their Facebook.”
There are nearly 60 volunteers from the U.S. to Canada who sign on for four-hour shifts to answer requests in a timely manner. They go through an application and review process conducted by Tromble and other people on staff. They also abide by a code of conduct that requires them to handle conversations with respect, not insults, with the goal of educating people with facts and not shutting them down.
The group also supports white people in their exchanges about racial justice, which is less about relieving labor and more about teaching white folks how to have conversations about race.
“Nothing I’m saying is new: Black, brown and indigenous folks have been telling us this stuff for decades,” Tromble said. “We’re just trying to do it in a way that might hopefully reach some people.”
The emotional labor put forth by people of color in an effort to educate white people on a daily basis is one of the reasons why they suffer from mental health issues at a higher rate. These sorts of services are necessary for well-being and survival of those who don’t have the same resources, privileges, and frankly, the time to put up with the BS.
