Over the past few weeks, months in quarantine I’ve had so much time to think, reflect, and introspect. While Covid-19 has wreaked immeasurable havoc on so many lives across the world, I can’t help but wonder if this large period of time was also presented as a gift for humanity to pause and start focusing on the things that actually matter in our livelihood.
With the recent events regarding Mr. George Floyd’s killing and the subsequent protests, it is nearly impossible not to mull over these things and wonder where we fit into all of it (racism, as a whole). I understand that to even have the luxury of time to direct our attention to his situation and the larger problems of systemic racism, institutionalized oppression, and police brutality speaks to a massive amount of privilege that non-Black people have. But nationally and internationally, the energy being poured into the BLM movement over the past couple of weeks feels different. While there have been other horrific instances of police brutality in recent months, against individuals like Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, Emerald Black, and countless others, the protests and reactions around Mr. Floyd’s killing represent the tipping point of years and years of justified anger and frustration. Police violence only represents a portion of systemic racism — education, housing inequalities, public health equity, hiring discrimination, sexual harassment, and a number of other factors all play a role in the racial ecosystem.
Regarding police brutality, I was shocked to find out that police violence is a leading cause of death for young men living in the USA. A research study from the PNAS demonstrates that approximately 1 in every 1000 black men are killed as a result of police violence. Black men and women in the US, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are significantly more likely to be killed by police than the white population. Research backs the fact that police in America kill far more people than police in other advanced democracies around the world do. This points to a deeply rooted, systemic, and institutionalized problem in modern society.
I can never firsthand experience the injustices that the Black community faces, so having as much empathy as possible is important. But even empathy and imagination do not come close to actual, lived experiences. After having several conversations with my friends, parents, coworkers, and consuming the news, I’ve been learning more and more about these issues and hearing several perspectives. At this particular point in time, the following are my takeaways:
- The systemic racism, decades of police brutality and unjustifiable violence, and microaggressions present in every fabric of our society need to be eradicated. It’s 2020 right now, and there is simply no excuse for it to exist, and there never really was in the past either. We can’t erase history but we can all do our part in working toward a better future.
- I imagine creating this kind of change will take several years. It took hundreds of years for the problems to get this bad, and I think it will take a long time for our generation (and the next and subsequent ones) to actively work on these issues to make life more equitable for all underrepresented groups and amplify their voices — because belief systems don’t change overnight. However, we must first focus our efforts on the BLM movement because it’s a fundamental part of society right now that is hurting and deserves far better treatment than what it has received. James Corden summarized the problem really well in this video, with the statement “How can the Black community dismantle a problem that they didn’t create?”
- Having graduated from college into a pandemic and quarantine, the absolute least I can do is learn as much as possible about the various levels of inequality, oppression, injustice, and mistreatment that the Black community in this country faces so that I can do better and do my part in helping the BLM cause.
- As Hasan Minhaj discusses, “When you became an American citizen you don’t just get to own the country’s excellence, you have to own its failures.” This involves reflecting on our own poor judgment, microaggressions, acknowledging past hurtful behavior, and taking responsibility.
- All the calls to action that we see on social media: reading books, watching documentaries, listening to other people’s experiences, protesting, donating, demanding change from government officials, etc. takes time. It won’t be done in a day. But nationally it feels as though so much momentum has collected that we need to make sure we continue to do these things.
- I agree with Van Jones’ point that we shouldn’t let pain have the last word. There is significant momentum for people to come and work together on creating a better system of law enforcement and enact real, positive change.
This is my personal action plan that I’ve started doing and would like to continue, moving forward:
- Read books and articles about historically underrepresented groups of people in today’s society, racism, police brutality, etc.
- Volunteer at Black-led organizations, perhaps specific to the tech industry first
- Donate (And develop plans to donate on some sort of annual or bi-annual cadence. A one-time donation to several organizations doesn’t seem sustainable.)
- Watch documentaries highlighting racial inequality and injustice
- Listen to more people and their stories/experiences with racism
- Reflect
- Support Black-owned businesses and organizations instead of purchasing off Amazon by default
- Pay more attention to local politics and elected government officials
- Demand accountability from the companies I will work for
- Spend less time on social media to do the above
