From September, 2016, through September, 2023, White Birminghamians for Black Lives held walking witnesses at Kelly Ingram Park, Railroad Park, and Avondale Park and business district. We started the witnesses following a long series of police killings of unarmed Black men around the country, leading up to the deaths of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, OK, on September 16, 2016, and Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, NC, on September 20, 2016.

The point of the witnesses was to lift the truth that white people have a particular responsibility to oppose racism in every aspect of life. The purpose was to illustrate an infinite number of ways for white people to speak out and show up for an end to racism. The effort pointed toward a time when it would be the expected — rather than a rare — thing for white people to come out as anti-racist in our families, schools, churches, friend groups, and workplaces. The witnesses modeled a different way of being white — a way of humility, of learning, of responsibility, and of commitment.

We no longer hold weekly witnesses. Organizational forms can and must change, but our dedication to racial justice remains, deepens, and continues to develop. You can still “witness” by adding your story to ours, and by joining our listening program.