On Police Brutality and Black Lives Matter, Stand Up and Be Heard

When the Black Lives Matter movement started a few years ago, I read the book "Waking up White" by Debby Irving. More recently, my daughter and I listened to the audiobook of "Biased" by Prof. Jennifer Eberhardt on a long road trip. Both of these books, amongst other resources, have given me a clearer perspective on the systemic advantages of being white both in this country and in this world.

I am also very fortunate to have black friends who were kind and patient enough to share their specific experiences of both overt and covert racism. While I will never fully understand the pain and frustration of these experiences, it brought home just how commonplace bias and racism is in the world.

From what I can see, systemic racism in the form of police brutality exists in a seemingly endless array of situations. For example, one of the stories in "Waking up White" details how the author's black friend regularly wore a sportcoat to the grocery store to avoid being followed during his visit by store security. Further up the scale is the story of my friend—who is exceptionally well educated, articulate, successful, friendly, and above all else, a human being who deserves to be treated with decency and respect—being held without cause at gunpoint by police several times in his life. Similarly, and perhaps the most common, another friend explained the need for black parents to have the life-and-death discussion with their sons on how to behave when—not if, but when—they are confronted by police. 

These are all experiences I have never had, and I believe most white people have never had. 

When you never directly experience a problem, it is easy to view it from a distance and expect someone else to solve it. After the well-documented events of the past few weeks, if you still find yourself in that frame of mind, you need to take action.

Educate yourself—there are lots of resources in this document https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/mobilebasic that can help shed light on the origins and constant perpetuation of systemic racism in America. If you are lucky enough to have close black friends who are patient enough to tell you their story, that is a blessing. However, it is not their responsibility to educate you, and do not underestimate just how emotionally valuable and expensive that gift to you will be.

Above all, just try to open your eyes and really see the unfairness and bias in your daily life. Try to do something, every day, to make it better. What is needed is a change of awareness, a change of attitude, and a change of apathy. What is needed is a strong statement of allegiance from people who are seen as peers by the perpetrators of this unfair system. 

You may never fully understand the problem, but you can certainly stand up for the solution.