No blog post next week, I’ll be winding down the end of the year and preparing for 2024.

Since it is the end of the year and many of us are trying to think through gifts, I thought it would be good to think about acts of kindness. Many acts of kindness are not material goods, but rather ways to support each other.

Here are a few acts of kindness to round out the year:

Tip extra well during the holidays, especially to people of color who are serving you. Many of the people working in these roles are people of color. Tipping originated to underpay people of color. Also, be kind to front-line workers this time of year, and all year long.

Say hello to someone who is serving you – the cashier at a grocery store, the nurse at the clinic, the taxi driver. Say hello like you mean it, not just a cursory greeting, and then go back to your phone.

If you’re financially able to, purchase a few books by authors of color or by disabled authors and stick them in Little Free Libraries or donate them to people who would benefit from diverse perspectives. Also, clear out your bookshelf and do the same with books you’re ready to pass along.

Visit an elder and ask them to share stories about their past, especially stories related to their cultural traditions.

Help someone register to vote. 2024 is a presidential election year with primary elections coming up very early in 2024.

Learn about housing affordability and then choose a way to support housing affordability in your area.

Act in a way that supports cross-racial justice.

Help someone with a project, especially if the project advances racial justice, disability justice, or LGBTQ justice.

Donate blood.

For my fellow people of color, if you’re able to join the bone marrow registry. If you’re already in the registry, make sure your information is up to date.

Listen and believe people of color, especially Black and Native women when they share their realities. Radical listening is a skill we need to develop. This isn’t really kindness, it is something we should just do because it is the right thing to do.

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