What’s in it for me? Learn about the roots of America’s racism, and how it can be remedied.
The year 2020 was an unprecedented one for the United States.
Not only did the country battle a raging virus that disproportionately affected Black people, but the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery sparked the biggest protests in the country’s history.
For some, these events finally exposed the depths of America’s racism, while others found themselves fighting for their humanity yet again.
These blinks examine how the country got to this point, and what can be done to carve a better path forward.
A note before we begin, disturbing scenes of racial violence are described in the first four blinks.
In these blinks, you’ll learn what James Baldwin predicted for America; why defunding the police isn’t the answer to police brutality; and what money has to do with racism.
George Floyd’s murder and the mass protests that followed marked a shift for America.
During the summer of 2020, while America grappled with COVID-19, a horrific video went viral on social media and instigated almost 5,000 protests across the country.
The video showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of an African American man named George Floyd for over eight minutes.
The 46-year-old slowly, and painfully, lost his life.
Millions of people, Black and white, took to the streets in response to the video.
These weren’t the first Black Lives Matter protests, but they were the biggest, and most intense.
The visuals of George Floyd’s murder highlighted the disregard for Black lives in a way that few could deny.
And in the author’s opinion, this was a turning point for the country.
The key message here is: George Floyd’s murder and the mass protests that followed marked a shift for America.
For the author, the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests were evidence of a moment predicted by the African American writer and activist James Baldwin.
Writing about racial injustice in his 1963 book, The Fire Next Time, Baldwin stated that if American society didn’t change, it would eventually face a fire – apocalyptic destruction.
The author believes that America is now in the midst of this fire, thanks in large part to former president Donald Trump’s racist 2018 election campaign and his careless leadership.
While many felt that the country needed a better president, especially during the turbulence of 2020, the author saw Trump’s presidency as necessary.
In the same way that symptoms bring attention to a disease, the election of a white supremacist into power forced people to acknowledge America’s racism problem.
The combination of an ineffective, racist leader and millions of people demonstrating in the streets inspired hope.
Like many people, the author sensed the potential for radical change.
He describes the moment as “nothing less than the death throes of White supremacy in concert with the birth pangs of racial renaissance.
” But change is impossible without action.
And the author puts forward that people have to make room for ideas they disagree with or find uncomfortable.
Different marginalized groups should put aside racism, misogyny, and homophobia to form powerful coalitions.
Black people shouldn’t forget the past, but they must be willing to forgive.
While white people should educate themselves on the issues at hand.
If this doesn’t happen, racism in America will continue to fester.
America’s racist system was created deliberately.
According to records at the Whitney Plantation, a Louisiana museum dedicated to the history of enslavement, there were ten enslaved people in the state in 1712.
By the close of the century, that number had grown to 20,000.
The sole purpose of the enslaved people was to provide free labor on Louisiana’s plantations and create wealth for the owners.
Violence such as flogging and branding was used to keep enslaved people submissive and at work.
And when some dared to rebel, they were savagely punished.
In one horrific example, Charles Deslondes, who led Louisiana’s 1812 German Coast Uprising, had his hands cut off and was shot in both legs so that he couldn’t run.
All this before being burned alive.
This violence demonstrates a very clear intent.
The key message here is: America’s racist system was created deliberately.
The racist society and structures in America didn’t develop accidentally.
Using Black people for the economic benefit of white people was a conscious choice, as was creating a system that dehumanized them.
The results of this system are the deeply held racial attitudes and tensions that play out today.
These affect both the Black people who experienced enslavement and those who are still experiencing its aftermath.
This also includes the white people who perpetuated it.
For instance, the author describes how, as a child, he felt trapped by the low expectations that white people had of Black children and Black people in general.
This low bar, or, the “Black box,” as the author calls it, comes from white supremacist ideas born in the days of enslavement.
And he’s been aware of it all his life.
For example, when he was elected class president in high school, white parents complained, describing him as “some Black kid.
” These prejudices aren’t always expressed so blatantly.
They sometimes manifest as microaggressions – the small intentional and unintentional discriminations that Black people experience daily, that are often difficult to call out.
This system that fuels microaggressions and other racist behavior needs to be replaced by a new system.
One based on higher morals and values.
As Newton’s third law states, each action has an equal but opposite reaction.
So, the economic goals of the new system should be the opposite of the greedy economics of the racist system.
And instead of relying on cruel tactics and focusing on self-interest, the new system should adopt kindness and foster a sense of community.
There’s always been a lack of empathy when it comes to the deaths of Black people.
As the pandemic wreaked havoc around the world, many countries adopted measures to reduce the spread of the virus.
These included social distancing and wearing face masks in public spaces.
But in America, people argued over wearing masks, while Donald Trump promoted an unproven drug, and claimed that the pandemic was under control.
It was not under control.
Over a thousand people were dying every day.
Yet, when presented with these alarming stats during an interview, Trump responded with, “It is what it is.
” These astounding words reflected something that existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The key message here is: There’s always been a lack of empathy when it comes to the deaths of Black people.
The deaths of Black people have elicited little empathy and action from those in power.
This was the case during enslavement, and in more recent crises like opiate addiction, AIDS, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to media organization, NPR, Black Americans died from COVID-19 at a rate almost two times higher than expected based on their population size.
In the author’s opinion, this kind of injustice isn’t only difficult to process, it’s paralyzing.
And when the public is paralyzed, leaders get away with a lack of empathy and action.
While little is done to prevent Black people from dying, images of their corpses have long been used to elicit reactions from the public.
During enslavement, for example, Black people who stepped out of line or rebelled were violently killed and their bodies displayed to warn others.
And in the Jim Crow era, a period of legalized racial segregation that came after the Civil War, photographs of lynchings were commonly sold as postcards.
Nowadays, thanks to technology and social media, videos of the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others before them are being shared around the world.
And although the footage draws attention to these racially motivated killings and sparks protests, the author wonders when people will become desensitized.
He also questions when Black activists and white allies will stop needing images of Black suffering to mobilize them.
Black lives should matter while people are living and not just after their deaths.
The solution to police brutality isn’t defunding the police, it’s changing the justice system.
Consider this fact: Black people make up about 13 percent of America’s population but they’re disproportionately killed by the police.
Thirty-two percent of people killed in interactions with police are Black.
There are countless instances of officers using excessive force against Black people.
There’s the death of Eric Garner for example.
Eric was put in a lethal chokehold while being arrested for selling illegal cigarettes.
In contrast, when white supremacist Dylann Roof was arrested for killing nine Black people, he was calmly led to the car.
This blatantly unfair treatment of Black people at the hands of police officers has pushed for calls to defund the police.
But the author doesn’t think this is the way forward.
The key message here is: The solution to police brutality isn’t defunding the police, it’s changing the justice system.
There’s definitely a need to change how police operate where Black people are concerned.
But the idea of defunding law enforcement alienates potential allies and is also unrealistically simple.
Think about it, no one gains 100 pounds from eating a single chocolate bar, and no one loses 100 pounds after one run.
Addressing police brutality is the same – it’s a process.
Part of the issue is that police officers aren’t properly equipped to handle the situations they find themselves in.
The author believes that most people who join the police force have good intentions but are eventually overwhelmed.
And they’re also exposed to racial bias and a culture of violence that stems from when policing involved keeping enslaved and free Black people in line.
And the result?
Police officers are violent toward the communities they’re meant to protect.
One solution is to train units for specific problem areas.
For instance, a specialized unit to handle cases of domestic violence.
This would ease the burden on police officers who currently respond to everything, from traffic incidents to bank robberies.
In Newark, New Jersey, officials have already implemented a similar program.
They’ve established an Office of Violence Prevention which consists of social workers and other trained professionals.
In addition to alternative forms of policing, ending police brutality also requires shifting the focus away from individual incidents and toward the entire justice system.
This means changing policies and prosecution trends that discriminate against Black people.
This can only be achieved by engaging in the political process and pushing for legislative change.
Narratives in American culture contain myths of white supremacy.
When apartheid ended in South Africa, newly elected President Nelson Mandela had the overwhelming mission of uniting a country divided by violent racism.
To achieve this, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established.
It allowed Black South Africans to tell their stories in televised hearings, ensuring that the country’s history, however terrible, was recorded accurately.
Another of the commission’s aims was to promote empathy and forgiveness that would help the country move forward.
The author considers empathy essential to changing American society.
And, to cultivate it, people must question and challenge misleading narratives that promote white supremacist ideas.
The key message here is: Narratives in American culture contain myths of white supremacy.
After America’s Civil War, white Southerners created what is now known as the Lost Cause mythology.
This distorted history by painting the Civil War, and the Southern states, in a more positive light.
It taught that the war was about Southern pride and the rights of individual states, and not the end of enslavement.
In fact, the mythology romanticized slavery.
Confederate generals were also hailed as heroes and statues were commissioned in their honor.
Aspects of the Lost Cause myth still exist today.
For example, Confederate monuments are common in the South.
Fortunately, things are starting to change, and Confederate monuments and flags are being condemned as symbols of white supremacy.
In 2020, the statue of Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham was the first of many torn down by protestors in Richmond, Virginia.
But monuments and history books aren’t the only things that promote white supremacist tropes and narratives.
They’ve also featured in books and movies for years.
Indulging in these as a child, the author rarely saw Black characters.
And when he did, their roles were insignificant or based on racist stereotypes.
Blackface was also common, and it’s popped up in modern times too, on shows like Saturday Night Live.
Such tropes and narratives promote racial stereotypes and influence prejudice in various environments, like workplaces and courtrooms.
So, they have to be called out, regardless of the performer or storyteller’s intention.
But the author doesn’t support getting rid of these artifacts, or “canceling” the performers.
This goes against freedom of speech and also creates gaps in America’s story.
Instead, people should consume these stories with the necessary context, highlighting the flawed tropes and narratives and discussing where they came from and what they led to.
Racism in America can be traced back to money, and money can also help combat it.
One morning, the author noticed some impressive chopping boards in a store window.
Interested, he stepped inside, only to be told that customers weren’t allowed in due to COVID-19 regulations.
This wasn’t a problem for him, and he left intending to return later to purchase the items from the doorway.
But while paying for the chopping boards, the author noticed a white woman shopping inside.
The store clerk said that she was a staff member training, but it didn’t look like it.
Afterward, the author went over the unsettling experience repeatedly and even discussed it with friends.
Eventually, he decided to return the chopping boards and get his money back.
He wasn’t going to support a business that discriminated against Black customers.
The key message here is: Racism in America can be traced back to money, and money can also help combat it.
Money is the reason that a multitude of Black people were enslaved and brought to America.
Generations of Black people provided the labor for farms and plantations in the South, kept factories running in the North, and supported households across the country.
They built wealth for white Americans over hundreds of years.
And racist ideas, laws, and social structures were created to keep this economic machine going and deprive Black people of opportunities to progress.
Despite having the odds stacked against them, many Black people found ways to thrive economically.
Unfortunately, their success was, and often still is, met with violence from white supremacists.
For instance, in 1921, Black Wall Street, a thriving Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma was burned to the ground.
It’s impossible to calculate the economic losses Black people have suffered since arriving in America.
But as a start, consider the estimation of close to four million enslaved people each providing free labor worth over $650,000.
The author believes that repayment should come in the form of education, better housing and healthcare, and economic opportunities.
But Black people won’t get these reparations by appealing to a sense of remorse, and racism won’t end because of a change of heart.
To change society and the economic structure, Black people and their allies need to use their spending power to make racism costly.
This means refusing to give money to racist brands and establishments and filing lawsuits for police brutality.
Eventually, this will make racism economically unsustainable.
Final summary
The key message in these blinks: Racism in America was born out of deliberate efforts to profit from the labor of enslaved Black people and keep them suppressed with little to no opportunities to advance.
Over the centuries, this has led to embedded racist values in American society and culture, and influenced a lack of regard for Black lives.
The election of a president with white supremacist notions and the racial turmoil of 2020 signaled a turning point for the country.
Now, concerned Americans have to put their differences aside and use their political and economic power to effect positive change.
Actionable advice: Support and protect the people around you.
The most urgent need at the moment is to help people who are most vulnerable to the violence of racism.
Do what’s in your power to support and protect these people.
This includes voting, peaceful activism, donating time and resources, and educating yourself.
Be ready to document incidents of racism when you see them because this becomes valuable evidence in the search for justice.
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