Disclaimer: This post is exceedingly long because the subject of race relations is exceedingly complicated. But its exceedingly important to discuss so if you have a few minutes, read my thoughts and share your own. This is how progress happens. #aboutraceUW Up until Sunday afternoon I was honestly conflicted about the protests going on around the country due to the recent deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others. The men were all black and unarmed and shot by police officers who were subsequently not charged. Let me be the first to say how much I admire the men and women of police departments around the nation that put their lives on the line to keep us safe. I do really believe that most police officers are honest, competent, honorable public servants. However like every profession, there are always bad apples, those who use unwarranted violent force and treat individuals with disdain or verbal harassment. A small percentage, but a present one. In all the recent shootings, many point to the fact that the victims were also suspects in a crime as the reason they were rightfully shot. Michael Brown may have stolen cigars an hour before, and was walking in the street. Eric was selling cigarettes tax-free, and 12 year old Tamir Rice was playing with (but not shooting) a bb gun in a city park. If these men were guilty, then of course they should have faced justice. However we will never know their guilt, because these police officers took their day in court away and made the jurys verdict for them. Its not only the officers fault, because these recent shootings are the breaking point; a symptom of an inherently racist justice and economic system in this country, the result of more than a four hundred years of Jim Crow laws , segregation and institutionalized slavery. To put it in perspective, slavery ended just 151 years ago with the Emancipation Proclamation. Congress then passed several constitutional amendments to try to protect a group of people that just weeks earlier were not considered to be fully human (3/5 compromise). The extremely conservative Supreme Court quickly ruled in several key cases that these new amendments could provide little protection for former slaves. Reconstruction ended, and the segregation and Jim Crowe Laws weve all heard of went into place. For more than 100 years, the Federal government didnt pass a single piece of legislation directed at easing racial violence or tension, or protecting African Americans from discrimination. The depth of poverty of the early 1900s among black Americans is hard for many middle class and affluent Americans to comprehend, myself included. (The closest I can come to getting it is my time reading Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry in 6th grade). Blacks were forced into unfair share cropping agreements, received deplorable educations in cramped school houses without running water. They were beaten, tarred, feathered and lynched, sometime by the Sheriff himself. The history of African Americans from 1863-1964 is one of Americas darkest, most shameful chapters, and one we cannot and must not forget. While things improved thanks to the Civil Rights Act in 1964, it wasnt enough. Racism was on the defense thanks to the new law, but instead of fading to nothing, it became harder to see and recognize. Lynchings and beating became less rare, and discrimination and segregation are officially illegal. Still, racist thinking exists, in many of us subconsciously. When researchers sent out dozens of identical resumes to firms half had Anglo-saxon names while the others had more African-American names. White named resumes received about a 10% response rate. The black names received only a 6% response rate. This is one of hundreds of studies showing that blacks still face major roadblocks politically, socially and economically compared to whites. This is white privilege. Does this exist because people consciously think that whites are superior to blacks? Most likely not. Yet many white Americans know the feeling in their stomach when they walk past a young, black male. Many people wont admit to it, but they feel intimated and nervous. As a white kid growing up in a 99% small, rural white town, Im embarrassed to say Ive felt it before. Thats subconscious racism, and thats what we need to fight. And our weapon is our words, our experiences and our ability to discuss this issue. This is why we stand up to say that black lives matter. We cannot, as a nation, move past the inequalities of racial injustice until we bring the racism left in the world out of the shadows and into the forefront of discussion. We need to talk, with family and friends, teachers and students, politicians and activists. It wont happen overnight or even in a year. However I truly believe that if we can continue this national discussion and grow it, we can slowly but surely root out the racist elements of our justice system. What does this all have to do with Eric Garner or Michael Brown? Data tells us that a black man is four times as likely to be killed by police than a white man. FOUR TIMES. Thats not an accident, thats evidence that something systemic is happening . Whether its due to socio-economic injustice that promote crime & violence, subconscious racism playing in the minds of police, prosecutors and officials (Or a mix of the two), discussing race in America is the fist step to solve both. Please share your thoughts, and lets talk about race #aboutraceUW
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:00:23 +0000
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