Building A New Nation

Our country is triaging. 

We are battling a global pandemic, an economic downturn, and racial injustice – all at the same time. We are at an inflection point for our nation and we can never – in fact, we must never – go back to the country we knew before. This means we need to clear the rubble and rebuild. We cannot wait until these crises are over. Rather, the trajectory we set ourselves on at this instance is critical. Starting at this very moment, as we prepare to celebrate the 4th of July, we must be profoundly intentional in building our new nation. 

If we want to find our brightest path out of this darkness, then there is one single factor to which we need to devote our highest attention: racism.

The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and other Black Americans have woken a nation. Black Americans have always faced unpredictable and incalculable threats of bigotry, harassment, violence, and death. But, the nationwide response during this current moment feels different than ever before. Finally, we seem to be saying: enough is enough. 

Whether we care to admit it or not, the United States was built on racism. Racism was purposefully and meticulously embedded within the very fabric of this country. Our nation’s original sin of slavery proclaimed the superiority of one race over another and allowed for human beings to be owned, sold, tortured, and killed. This paved the way for the accelerated development and growth of this nation on the backs of enslaved labor. While we left slavery behind, its agonizing echoes have haunted our history and continue to be heard loudly today in every modern institution. 

In order to build a better nation, we must actively dismantle racism. This is not a simple process. Because racism is weaved into our national fabric, confronting racism will require us to separate the seams. It will require us to have uncomfortable conversations. It will require us to acknowledge and check our privileges. It will require us to reckon with the harshest and darkest corners of our society.

However, we must do this work. Confronting and combating racism is the central pillar around which we need to rebuild. It impacts everything. The pandemic and economic downturn have highlighted two facets of our society where those impacts are heavily felt: health care and economic prosperity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the United States more dramatically than almost any other country. While other nations have managed to flatten and reduce the curve, the number of cases in the United States continues to dramatically increase. This impact has been disproportionately borne by communities of color – Blacks and Hispanics, in particular.[1] Black Americans are at least twice as likely (and often times more) to be killed by COVID-19.[2] This is not an isolated or irregular occurrence. Rather, these disparities are a result of systemic inequities that have developed throughout our history. For leading causes of death, Blacks have higher fatality rates than Whites, even when socioeconomic status is controlled.[3] “Racism and discrimination … have a well-documented impact on the health of marginalized communities” resulting in “adverse impacts” that “can be manifested in lower-quality health care.”[4] 

Similarly, COVID-19 has spotlighted tremendous gaps in economic prosperity. Prior to the pandemic, unemployment for Black Americans was double that of whites and median incomes were nearly half.[5] As COVID-19 exploded across the nation, those gaps only widened.[6] The pandemic-induced economic downturn has impacted nearly everyone. Yet, because of economic disparities correlated with race, there are marginalized populations that are less equipped to weather the storm. 

Black Americans have borne the extraordinary burden of those disparities. Generations of enslavement allowed for whites to develop and build wealth on the backs of Blacks. Once enslavement was finally abolished, Blacks were given none of the riches they helped to build. As they worked to build up their own prosperity, they were repeatedly knocked down – sharecropping; Jim Crow; poll taxes; violence and terrorism (such as the events in Springfield in 1908 and Tulsa in 1921); lynching; segregation; redlining; police brutality – the list painfully goes on and on.[7] Over, over, and over again, Blacks were cut off at the knees and then gas lit for not doing better for themselves, all while they led nearly every civil rights movement in the country. 

The history of enslavement, harassment, violence, and bigotry does not simply create an unequal playing field; it entirely topples it. Black Americans can expect to earn up to $1 million less than white Americans over their lifetimes.[8] In 2016, the median white family had more than ten times the wealth of the median Black family and the racial wealth gap continues to grow as white families gain more wealth while the median wealth for Black families continues to stand still.[9]

These disparities—in health care and economic prosperity—are but two of the many facets of society that have been profoundly impacted by racism. The protests of today are not only about responding to the most recent incidents of racial violence against Black Americans (though that is certainly reason enough). Rather, it is frustration that has reasonably bubbled to the surface. Indeed, the protests are really the mildest possible response, considering the centuries of oppression, destruction, and violence that have plagued Blacks from the very moment they were unwillingly brought to this country’s shores as property.

Racism is ruthless in everything that it touches. No holds are barred and no prisoners are taken. Rather, it burns everything in its path. If we seek to build a better nation—and we must—we need to douse the fire. The events of the last month have created new opportunities for us to have candid and courageous conversations about race and racism. These conversations are a starting point. However, they require careful management and active participation. 

First, the discussion must start safe. This means that all participants have to enter the conversation with some acceptance and acknowledgment of racism. Sometimes, participants in these conversations will use the platform to perpetuate a false narrative. For example, they may argue that the impact of racism is minimal or that they have achieved their success through meritocracy alone. Often, the proponents of these views seek not to support their claims with any evidence and are dismissive when confronted with evidence to support the contrary. We do not seek to censor their speech; however, we must be equipped to identify falsehoods, especially when they are factually or historically inaccurate or when they risk even further alienating Black Americans. When participants enter these conversations, they must do their homework in advance. They must understand their privileges, understand the impacts of racism, and understand the massive disparities that exist as a result.

Second, the discussion must stay safe. These conversations are not easy. Not only is it important to listen, but we must respect the sanctity of the forum and its rules. We must specifically listen to the voices and experiences of Black Americans. In listening, we must not discount nor minimize their experiences, nor should we become defensive. This can be hard, because it is often our participation in oppressive systems (even if that participation is merely neutral or involuntary) that has resulted in detrimental experiences for Black Americans. Therefore, it can sometimes feel like the finger is being pointed at us and that we are the villains in the story. We must overcome our disposition to paint a hero/victim/villain narrative. Life is not that simple and history is not that simple. While there are shades of gray everywhere, we still need to accept our responsibilities and do so without becoming defensive. It is not the fault of any single one of us—but, it is our collective responsibility for permitting systemic racism to propagate.

Third, the discussion must result in change. Having had an opportunity to participate in ongoing safe discussions, we need to clearly address and agree upon the challenges. We need to build consensus around the key pressure points that have created disparate outcomes, based on evidence and facts. Only when we can collectively agree on the specific challenges can we come to an agreement on solutions. This, too, will be hard. But, the debate is necessary. Once we have identified and agreed upon the challenges, we must proactively correct. First and foremost, this involves being anti-racist, which we must certainly be.[10] There is no such thing as being passive in a system that perpetuates racism. Even if you are standing still in such a system, you are still moving in the direction of racial injustice. Therefore, you must cast neutrality aside, and proactively and constantly perpetuate anti-racism. 

But that is not enough. We also must mechanically and meticulously correct the inequities within our country and its institutions. This is an involved effort and requires peeling back decades, and sometimes centuries, of procedure and process. Citing to the examples we discussed above—health care and economic prosperity—we need to dig ourselves out before building an entirely new foundation. 

Finally, and perhaps most crucially, we need to initiate and participate. We must each individually begin the work, in our homes, our communities, and our workplaces. We must create spaces for conversation and action to occur. We must ensure that Black Americans are heard and respected. We must proactively educate ourselves and learn. We must speak up and speak out when we see wrongdoing. We must acknowledge our own weaknesses, biases, and mistakes. We must stand with Black Americans (and kneel, when necessary). We must do this work every single day. 

Despite how they may be portrayed, these are not extreme ideas. When you consider the impact of hundreds of years of deep-seated and far-reaching racism, these ideas are simply commensurate with the challenge.

We will not see justice until we reckon with racism. We cannot wait until these crises are over, for permission to begin, or for the right to be right—by then, it will be too late. The time to start is now.

[1] Adia Harvey Wingfield, The Disproportionate Impact of Covid-19 on Black Health Care Workers in the U.S., Harvard Business Review (May 14, 2020).

[2] Maria Godoy and Daniel Wood, What Do Coronavirus Racial Disparities Look Like State By State?, NPR (May 30, 2020).

[3] David R. Williams and Selina A. Mohammed, Discrimination and racial disparities in health: evidence and needed research, Journal of Behavioral Medicine (November 22, 2008).

[4] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice, The National Academies Press (2020).

[5] Alana Semuels, Segregation Has Gotten Worse, Not Better, and It’s Fueling the Wealth Gap Between Black and White Americans, TIME (June 19, 2020).

[6] Id.

[7] Kriston McIntosh, Emily Moss, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh, Examining the Black-white wealth gap, The Brookings Institution (February 27, 2020); Nikole Hannah-Jones, What Is Owed: Without Economic Justice, There Can Be No True Equality, The New York Times (June 24, 2020); Meilan Solly, 158 Resources to Understand Racism in America, Smithsonian Magazine (June 4, 2020). 

[8] Nick Noel, Duwain Pinder, Shelley Stewart, and Jason Wright, The economic impact of closing the racial wealth gap, McKinsey & Company (August 13, 2019).

[9] Id.

[10] Maja Hazell, The Crippling Impact of Anti-Black Racism, And How Allies Can Act Against It, The American Lawyer (June 18, 2020).