12 Jun The Tipping Point for Change in USAmerica

We are at a tipping point in the United States. The push-back against the lack of human rights and injustices for people of color has been building since it came to the forefront, yet again, in 2016. That’s when Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem to protest police killing of black people. Now tens of thousands of black and brown people are protesting across the US and around the world. White allies are joining in, adding their voice to frustrations around systemic, societal inequity for people of color.

Why are people mad?

Black people have been mad for decades about not being able to feed their family or pay rent. The shutdown to flatten the curve, while effective to control the growth of new COVID-19 infections, has been financially devastating for many. People of all races can empathize around anger that they must choose between staying home for health and safety or going to work to survive. Many are left without jobs at all.

The Coronavirus pandemic laid bare the historically biased outcomes for people of color, as the virus strikingly and disproportionately impacted African Americans. Among the many (26) states reporting racial data on COVID-19, people who are black accounted for 34% of COVID deaths (Johns Hopkins). Yet only 13% of the US population is black. Pre-existing poorer health, often a result of limited to access to good healthcare because of lower paying jobs, were cited as the reasons.

The murder of Ahmaud Arbery at the hand white vigilantes, the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, all came in such quick succession. And that pushed the reality of white privilege undeniably into the spotlight. It highlighted how many white people do not realize the privilege they have in being free to safely go for a jog or walk to 7-11. These daily activities can turn deadly for black people, simply because they are black.

All of this coalesced at a time when people are tired of being home, mad at the virus, mad at the loss of income and livelihood, and isolated at home from family and community. It was like a time bomb.

Enough is enough! People are tired of standing on the sidelines waiting for leaders to do something. They want answers and change. Now.

What’s different this time?

Sheltering at home made noticeably clear the disparity in resources, person by person and family by family. The economic divide became more palpable. Those of means escaped to second homes in nature to wait it out. Meanwhile others in crowded neighborhoods wondered how they were expected to school their children or work from home when there’s no computer. What about children who depended on meals provided at school, who would now go hungry? Suddenly people dove into action as they understood viscerally how life was so different for different people and so clearly how that was segregated and distinctly worse by race.

And then there was the 8 and half minutes of watching an officer of the law kneel on a black man’s neck as he begged for his life, over supposedly trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. That didn’t match anyone’s idea of what law enforcement was supposed to be.

As demonstrated by the outpouring of support from people of all colors, from the US to Brazil to New Zealand and beyond, most people stand for human rights across the globe and are increasingly driven to take action. There also seems to be, finally, a willingness on the part of white people to explore what white privilege is. Just last week almost all of the top best-selling books on Amazon (seven out of 10) and at Barnes & Noble (nine out of 10) took on topics related to race, including “How to Be an Antiracist,” by Ibram X. Kendi, “White Fragility,” by Robin DiAngelo, and “So You Want to Talk About Race,” by Ijeoma Oluo.

It is unprecedented that so many white people are accepting that white privilege is a thing and acknowledging that institutional and systemic racism is real and can be reversed through action. The American Dream can’t be available to all when it’s main tenet for success is “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.” That only works when everyone is starting at the same starting line, with the same opportunities. And that trajectory has been imbalanced and ingrained in law since the arrival of black people to the US via slave ships in 1619 (read more on that here.)

What’s next?

There already have been calls to defund police, as seen (and approved) in Minneapolis. Other communities, like Chicago, have demanded that police be removed from public schools. Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus have introduced the Justice in Policing Act to rein in the use of excessive force by law enforcers, particularly the violence targeting blacks and other minorities, who die disproportionately at the hands of police.

In some states, police officers were originally meant to be “peace officers,” or ones who kept the peace in communities they knew and lived in. But for Black people the original police badges were worn by slave catchers who later enforced brutal oppression following slavery, fueling a long-standing distrust of so-called peace officers in Black communities across America.

Now, as cities and law enforcement organizations have grown, officers are often emotionally disconnected from their communities. In the past there have been calls for unconscious bias training—but that alone will only serve as an excuse for biased behavior. Training must go beyond; equipping officers with the tools and tactics they need to understand differing conflict styles and how to de-escalate high intensity situations.

There must be concrete action

Executive Diversity Services has been helping organizations, police departments and municipalities build inclusive cultures for 33 years. And EDS President, Elmer Dixon, has been a frontline warrior for justice and freedom for over 50 years, starting at age 17 when he helped co-found the Seattle Black Panther Party (BPP).

“The BPP had a 10 point plan, that guided us,” said Dixon. “It was basic human rights that people still want and deserve today: food, housing, and healthcare, to be safe in their homes. We embarrassed the Federal government into providing kids with free breakfasts and lunch through our Children’s Free Breakfast Programs. And we led the way in free healthcare by opening our Free Medical Clinics, of which, the Seattle BPP Clinic is the only one still operating 50 years later.”

There must now be a vision for the future and action to back it up. “I’ve seen a lot of police chiefs and officers marching and kneeling with protesters. It’s one thing to say I stand with you. It’s another to say here’s how to make change. Specific plans and tactics that people can rally around need to be created with input from the black community, and leaders need to be held accountable.

Those driving Black Lives Matter can learn from the freedom fighters of the past to create a vision for the future. Now is the time to be on the right side of history. As individuals, as businesses, as community leaders, we can all take action.