06/10/2020
“It’s Time To Break The Silence”
I write as a white, middle-aged, educated man from an upper middle class, family of privilege in Oklahoma. I fully recognize that someone like me could never fully appreciate, let alone understand the systemic inequality, racism and injustices present in today’s society. However, as a citizen of the United States, as a human being, it is not OK to silently sit by and do nothing….say nothing. This silence becomes a tacit approval of the senseless, brutal deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. Like those police officers in Minneapolis that stood by and did nothing while George Floyd was gasping for air, we become culpable, responsible and complicit in these deaths if we don’t speak up and denounce these acts.
It’s ironic, that only a few short years ago, we, as Americans, were heralding ourselves as a society that elected is first black President and then went ahead and re-elected him for a second four-year term. There were those that spoke of a utopian “post-racial America” and life was good……or was it? While there can be no mistaking the profound and meaningful mark of progress this Presidency brought to the American byline, the reality is that racism never fully disappeared. In fact, racism can be found at every level of our society in ways that would shock and surprise all of us. This is what is known as “systemic racism” and is what we, as human beings, are bound to fight against and eradicate.
How do we go about erasing centuries of racial injustice? And I’m not talking about denouncing the sort of overt brutal, barbaric actions of the Minneapolis Police Officers with George Floyd or the similar suffocating death of black male Eric Garner by the New York City Police Officers, I’m talking about the everyday systemic racism that occurs across this nation. If racism is to be overcome then it needs to be dismantled and calling it out is the job of every single American.
And so we must all do our part if we are to succeed as a nation, as a people…. and it won’t be easy. These issues are ugly. They are complicated and complex. They are uncomfortable and at times overwhelmingly stressful to discuss. But they are all of these and more when there is a basic lack of understanding.
We must learn. We must educate ourselves and those around us in support of basic human rights. It is no longer enough to speak out against the sins of our ancestors, our predecessors, our fellow man, against the racial, sexual and gender injustices that have become so ubiquitous in our world, nation, states, cities, communities and families. We should all become advocates for racial justice. Racial Justice is the creation and proactive reinforcement of policies, practices, attitudes, and actions that produce equitable power, access, opportunities, treatment, and outcomes for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, or the community in which one lives. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." This sort of behavior, these killings and injustices will only continue if we remain silent….submissive. Let us all stand and let our voices be heard.
