ONE SMALL STEP

  Recently, my husband, Bill, and I had our biweekly Saturday night virtual Happy Hour with the old Brigantine, New Jersey gang, now dispersed over four States. After the usual toasts, tasty treats and family updates, we got down to our usual Zoom topic of conversation---the State of the Union. Since last we assembled, the world as we were learning to navigate it, swung, once more, out of orbit. Covid-19 had been eclipsed by the terrible, tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

 For us, the Baby Boomer generation, it was a terrifying trip ”back to the future.” We had lived through the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. We had watched in horror as Bull Connor’s cops turned fire hoses and vicious dogs on peaceful protestors in Birmingham, Alabama. We had assembled, We had marched, We sat-in and We stood up. Some of us, like Bill, had been organizers and had been spit on and shot at by the Ku Klux Klan and their evil followers. We had effectuated real change---or at least we thought we had.

Now, as we sipped our wine and stirred our martinis, we were not so sure. The nationwide demonstrations we all had watched, glued to our televisions, looked a lot like what we had seen live fifty years before---even to the tear gas and vicious dogs. What had happened to real change? Had we somehow wandered off the road to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all? Those were the questions we began to debate.

Yes, we had contributed to desegregating the schools, opening up the lunch counters and restrooms and easing the South’s onerous voting restrictions. But George Floyd was killed in Minnesota. Now protestors were raising their fists from Los Angeles to New York City, including our own Philadelphia. Raising their voices too, black, brown, yellow and white voices, shouting loud and clear that racial hatred was still alive everywhere: in every city, in every suburb, in every town. And, they had had enough. They were right.

But what could we do about it? What we concluded, and what I firmly believe, is that peaceful protest is only the beginning, albeit a very strong and necessary beginning. However, to effectuate the real and lasting change we all crave, each of us must do our part.

What do I mean? We must try to improve the personal universe around us. I am thinking that once we Boomers graduated from college, law or other graduate schools, we became immersed in growing our careers, raising our families and building our futures. And, the days of peaceful protest faded.

Now we have a second chance to lead the way. Once the protests have ended, and they will, the real work will begin. Each of us, young and not so young, must set an example. If someone tells a racially inappropriate joke at a cocktail party, say something. If someone uses racially inappropriate language in the office, say something. If someone tries to deny an associate a raise or promotion based on color call them out for it.

If you see a police officer acting inappropriately towards someone based on race, do something about it right then and there. If it had not been actually caught on a bystander’s video, our nation may never have known George Floyd’s name.

There’s more we can do. We can reach out to our local community groups and get involved. We can become active in our local political parties. We can run for committee person. We can represent someone on Election Day who was denied access to the polls. We can volunteer at a soup kitchen or a women’s shelter. We can volunteer to tutor reading or math at an inner city elementary school. One on one with a young person of color is a small step for us but could be a game changer for that little kid. Most important, every time we venture out of our comfort zone, we are one step closer to effectuating real change.

 It won’t be easy. It will take time. The Boomer generation may not be around to see its completion. That may be up to our children and our grandchildren. But, if we, all of us, have the courage to take that one small step, we will be well on our way.

When covid-19 first struck, America said: ”We’re all in this together. We will get through this together.” Racial disparity is just as deadly a plague as the coronavirus. And, it is just as true in June as it was in January. We are all in this together too. And we will get through this together too. As long as each one of us is willing to take that one small step.

If I can be of further help or you would like to chat, please contact me via phone, 215-888-1155 or email, [email protected] or [email protected].