Bearing Witness to America's Systemic Racism
SONIA PAZ-CANTON: You saw the violence and flames, the smoke and shattered glass. You saw only the destruction and looting. You made up your mind.
I was there. You were not.
The riots are a symptom of a greater problem. Non-Black people and law enforcement are taking advantage of the media, distorting protestors’ real intentions by inciting chaos and labeling a Black-led movement as violent. Rather than report on the protestors’ calls for racial justice, mainstream media channels are instead preoccupied with images of fire and footage of Black trauma. That leaves me with a few questions: How do a few bad protestors label the whole movement as a riot, yet a few “bad apples” are never supposed to represent all cops? Why am I seeing more accurate information surrounding the protests from my Twitter feed than on my TV screen? Racism is rampant around the globe. Here in America especially, systemic racism rears its ugly head in every aspect of society.
This is what I witness: Cops covering their badge numbers, turning off their body cameras, and illegally stopping people from filming them without any consequences. They violate medical neutrality, a humanitarian law, by destroying medical tents. They drive cars into crowds and blind journalists with rubber bullets. Beyond these breaches of law and public trust, the police have spread misinformation. According to the New York Post, police told reporters that looters broke into the Soho Rolex store and stole $2.4 million worth of watches, yet Rolex refuted the claim, saying no watches were at the store. Worst of all, this police behavior is endorsed and encouraged by those at the head of our country’s criminal justice system. By giving police permission to be brutal, President Trump is embodying the authoritative leaders he has long admired. How can the leader of the free world justify using excessive military force against his own citizens?
At the same time, I witness a surge of performative activism that undermines the value of the movement. Over 28 million people posted a black square on Instagram with the hashtag #blackouttuesday, but less than 17 million have signed George Floyd’s petition for justice. While some people are using their platforms to spread awareness and show solidarity with the Black community, many more have not taken action to support the movement beyond social media. Let’s face it: posting a black square took minimal effort. Words are words, not actions. BLM is not a social media trend. I encourage all people who have posted these past few weeks to add to the dialogue and go beyond. Contribute resources that can make a difference, no matter how small. The process towards building a more socially just nation is gradual and requires learning as we go. We must examine the broader question of when this all started to understand why it's so important to be a part of this movement.
Where We Are and How We Got Here
This fight should not be a political issue, but the Trump administration has made it one. How is our national leader able to threaten to militarize the country if governors do not comply with bringing the National Guard to their states? Trump claimed to be an ally to the Black community while police attacked protestors. If the Trump administration had worked as quickly to slow coronavirus as they did to stop protestors, the U.S. would be in a very different place. Today, we live in a nightmare. We live in a country where our civil and human rights have been violated, where we live under the threat of martial law and citywide curfews. Where we cannot freely protest without getting struck with dangerous rubber bullets or sprayed with tear gas. Our nation has failed us. We are living in a scary and dark place.
I have to ask myself, how did we get here? You should too.
The only clear answer is this: property and capital ownership have funneled white supremacy throughout the nation. Many of the stores closing to protect their property from protesters represent a great irony: some are the same stores that wouldn’t temporarily close during the pandemic to protect the health of their workers. After seeing cops cars in flames, I ask myself: why are we as a country turning to violence? The violence of property destruction is insignificant compared to the violence the Black community has endured at the hands of police. Protest –– and riots –– is an essential aspect of the American identity; to believe such demonstrations are incapable of achieving change is to neglect our history. How was slavery abolished? How did women earn the right to vote? These once-radical changes came into fruition as a result of citizens themselves –– and yes, sometimes violence was productive. Most movements that have shaped our nation for the better, from the Boston Tea Party to the Stonewall riots, grew violent at times. The Black Lives Matter movement is no different. Resistance is in America’s blood. How can the same nation that revolted over being taxed unfairly not understand why Black people want to do the same? After being institutionally oppressed and murdered daily for centuries?
I don’t get it. Neither should you.
A Broken System
Even if you disagree with resisting through violence, it is important to recognize that several Black Lives Matter advocates champion pro-strategic looting, as it exposes the faults of capitalism. Government at all levels has failed to address how in order to survive, capitalism must exploit. Under the Trump administration, income inequality is the highest on record.
According to a survey conducted by GenForward, a Black membership organization, “to loot is symbolic for workers as it allows them to take back the wealth they themselves produced.” Before people rush to make judgments, they should bear in mind that for some, looting large companies like Target is a statement against exploitative employers, private property, and wealth inequality. They are not demanding change from politicians who sit on their hands; they are taking what they believe is fair and just. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed how severe growing wealth inequality is, and these outbursts of violent frustration are not a coincidence. Trump gave tax cuts to those who already make enough money for private healthcare and the nation’s current health crisis has revealed how politics can become a matter of life-or-death.
It is time for America to realize that Black lives matter more than property. While we must acknowledge that not all of the looters had the right motivation, the crime we should be paying attention to is the senseless killing of Black Americans that has gone on for far too long. The BLM movement is not limited to police brutality, but overcoming the systemic challenges Black people face in our country. Not only are police often not held accountable for their actions, but they occupy positions of power that serve, protect and uphold racially oppressive laws. Through defunding the police, local governments will be able to redistribute the massive amount of funds to resources that lift up Black communities –– instead of literally keeping a knee on their necks. Redistributing funds can help our societies better educational opportunities, provide equitable housing, make health care more affordable, and end voter suppression and mass incarceration.
According to Benjamin O’Keefe, “It would cost $20 billion to effectively eliminate homelessness in the US, $34 billion to ensure free college for everyone, and we spend $100 billion on police.” The window for reform has passed; it is time we change this broken system. We can change America, but change must begin with us.
Demand Justice.
Demand more. Posting on social media or telling yourself you are not racist is not speaking out. It is staying silent while the system continues to work in your favor and against Black Americans.
How can you stay silent when your parents make an anti-Black comment? How can you stay silent towards a school who scolds your African American peer for wearing her natural curls? How can you stay silent when your significant other says the n-word in a popular song?
Change begins with you. It begins in your home, with your friends, at your school and place of work. The voting booth, too –– but we cannot wait for November. Being anti-racist is an active and conscious choice you must make every single day. You will not wake up one day and all of a sudden do everything correctly. Like everything else in life, becoming an ally takes time, practice, and effort. Learn from your mistakes. Normalize changing your opinion on subjects. Apologize, learn, educate yourself –– and evolve as a person. Be comfortable disagreeing with your parents. How they were raised –– how you were raised –– is not the way you have to be. Think critically about how your actions and words affect not only the people closest to you, but those you have yet to meet.
In high school, I never had many Black friends because there was little African American diversity, so I was never exposed to an entire perspective. But that does not mean I didn’t do everything in my power to change that. Throughout my life, I made it my mission to do my research over current issues, expose myself to diverse environments, recognize my implicit biases, and speak out against racism. I have come to understand more and more about the faults in the systems I had once honored. I have only begun to scratch the surface, but I can imagine an America I can one day honor with full, genuine appreciation: one where social injustice is, at last, a part of our history.