#AmericanSpring

“I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better." - Thurgood Marshall 

U.S Embassies in Africa, in an unprecedented fashion, have condemned the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.  Additionally, the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, rejected the “continuing discriminatory practices against Black citizens of the United States of America." America has a problem with systemic racism. The world is watching. COVID19 may have made this moment of nationwide civil unrest possible. Difficult to know if it will last or if lasting change will be the result.

The State of Minnesota Department of Human Rights has opened an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department. This type of probe can reveal ways to correct the police departments history of racial discrimination. But we have been here before. After the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, the US Department of Justice opened Federal Civil Rights investigations. Some things changed and things remained the same. Police wear body cameras but the Floyd killing went viral based on a bystander video, not a police body cams.  What provides some hope is the speed with which the police officer involved was charged with a crime. That is new. And it seems that COIVD19 may have prepared some of the US to have this dialogue on the streets and online.

COVID19 in the US saw the rise of the effective and powerful state Governor. That was new.

In the wake of a failed US Federal Government response to the Pandemic, California’s Governor  Gavin Newsom and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo rose in power and profile on the national stage as leaders in combatting the virus. We listened and watched online no matter what state we lived in. I live in California and Newson is a particular hero in most parts of the state.   

There are many layers to racism and inequality in the US. America had already begun some discussion of the inequitable impact of COVID19 - closures, infection rates, access to affordable healthcare had been the national and state dialogue. All of the dialogue was virtual. Months stuck at home with no healthy outlet for frustration on many levels.

There is some evidence of outsiders aggravating the protests. What is different from the Ferguson protests is the use of helpful words such as systemic racism, white privilege, and bias. This new language that white America must face, digest, and embrace is a healthy step forward. Privilege is unearned and unasked for. The challenge is to generate the momentum to move to the next step in our understanding in order to allow a broader discussion of police abuse of power and bias toward those of African descent. Also, the US must face its limitations and approach its role on the international stage with a great deal more humility.