Juneteenth – Finding Solutions to Systemic Racism in America
Today is Juneteenth, a day where black Americans like me celebrate the day that all slaves were freed in America. We celebrate June 19, 1865, the day the news that all black people were free finally reached Galveston, Texas, more than two years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.
Today, we celebrate, but we also continue to fight. This particular June 19th, 2020 is a charged one, because of the climate of our country in response to the horrible deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many other black Americans. The nation is erupting in protests, and in some cases the protests have given rise to violence. All these protests are happening in the middle of the scariest worldwide pandemic since the Spanish flu. The protesters hitting the streets are risking catching a deadly disease to make their voices heard. Surely that should be enough to strike everyone looking on as important or serious, right?
Unfortunately not. Why is that? Well, for just as long as black people have been systematically oppressed in the United States, so long have white Americans benefited from that same system. If you stop and think about it, it’s easy to forget how many things we take for granted on a daily basis in our lives. Take electricity and air conditioning for example. How often do you think about the tremendous blessing both of those inventions are? Odds are, probably not much, until they’re not there. What about your cell phone or the device you’re reading this article on right now? Until you read that question the thought about what a privilege you have to enjoy that technology probably wasn’t even in your head.
If you can forget so easily about the incredible power and convenience of a smartphone or laptop computer, which have existed mere decades at best, how much more easy it must be for someone not to understand conveniences and privileges that have existed for multiple generations!
So, yes. White privilege is real. Even when you might not notice it. Let’s look more at it for a second. White privilege does NOT mean you are wealthy or born with a silver spoon in your mouth. It does NOT mean you have not had difficulties in your life. It DOES mean that the difficulties in your life were not related to the color of your skin. I probably haven’t done a great enough job explaining that so I have some resources and ways for you to take action right now. It’s time now to educate, converse, equip, and give to make systemic racism in America a thing of the past.
It’s Time for Action
Please don’t be offended by some of the titles, know it’s not my intention at all to co-opt some of those statements, because they come off more than a little abrasive. I’m more looking at these for the content and perspective!
An important note about the links to the books on this list: They’re affiliate links. That means that if you decide to purchase one of the books, Amazon pays me a very small commission. Here’s why that’s important this time. Amazon has not made a very strong case for themselves as supporters of the black community during this time. Read more here if you’re interested. How I’m hopeful to combat that is by donating anything Amazon pays me from selling these books directly to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and to local and national bail funds for protestors. I’ve linked them here so you can donate too if that’s how you want to show your support.
Now, on to the list of resources. This is not comprehensive by any means, and I hope to be able to add more. If you can think of some other resources
Reading – Both for Understanding and How to Take Action:
Books (All of these have audiobook versions available):
- Me and White Supremacy – https://amzn.to/3114m0W
- White Fragility – https://amzn.to/2zMdo6N
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? – https://amzn.to/2V0RC6F
- So You Want to Talk About Race – https://amzn.to/2YUzqwE
- How to Be an Antiracist – https://amzn.to/2AGSmHn
Articles:
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/to-my-white-friends-who-see-tragedy-in-the-black-community-and-say-nothing-make-it-personal_b_7666594
- https://www.alternet.org/2015/04/11-things-white-people-can-do-be-real-anti-racist-allies/
- https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/george-floyd-s-death-has-be-tipping-point-white-people-ncna1229181
- http://www.mashupamericans.com/issues/be-less-racist-12-tips-for-white-dudes-by-a-white-dude/
Video:
- Race in America – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGUwcs9qJXY
- The Truth about Blacks vs. Whites & George Floyd Protests – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0AXORRYggQ
- Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8jUA7JBkF4
- Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man Ep. 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwiY4i8xWIc
- The Look – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJav36Nbn58
Petitions:
- https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor
- https://www.change.org/p/united-states-congress-make-juneteenth-a-national-holiday-in-2020
- https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd
- https://www.change.org/p/united-states-supreme-court-justice-for-lakeith-smith
- https://www.change.org/p/los-angeles-sheriff-s-department-palmdale-station-justice-for-robert-fuller
- https://www.change.org/p/adams-county-district-attorney-justice-for-elijah-mcclain-2
As I said, this list is not comprehensive and I welcome more suggestions! If you want to give feedback or have a civil conversation down below please feel free to do so! I will be moderating the comments here, so don’t be hateful or ignorant.
I sincerely hope this helps and offers just a little more perspective to you if you didn’t know about steps to take toward making a difference. In future posts I’ll be exploring even more ways to beat racism in our country. I love you all immensely.
O, let America be America again—
Langston Hughes, Let America Be America Again
The land that never has been yet—
