While we have terms for people who have experienced any trauma, it is a grave fact that over 400 years of racism, we do not have a term yet for people of color who experience racial terrorism. This is a devastating and telling omission in our lexicon because it conveys how a white-dominant society in the United States has refused to acknowledge the ongoing experience of living day in and day out in a society that was founded on the reality of working enslaved African Americans, and later African Americans, until their tendons literally snapped from their bones (Perez, 2020).
An important historical event was when Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, not releasing pressure when Mr. Floyd said he could not breathe. Not removing it when the bystanders cried out, nor even releasing it for almost three minutes after Mr. Floyd was unresponsive. The inhumane treatment and brutality upon which the nation was founded were exposed for its horror, and the world saw it (Peoples, 2021).
It is the prime time to reflect on just how deranged, sadistic, and yet commonplace Mr. Floyd’s murder was as a representation of endemic racism. Because that has not been done effectively in more than 400 years since enslaved people first arrived in the state. The commonly reported and observed disparities are found in education, employment and income, policing, health and well-being. Thus, the equity should be provided in every aspect of life to everyone regardless of cultural background. For example, if Black students are more likely to go to schools that do not have digital technology must be provided access to eliminate the disparities.
Moreover, it is necessary to spend considerable time reflecting on how racism has created policies, attitudes, and cultural conventions. Therefore, it is required to identify ways in which physical and cultural segregation has become the norm and create concrete goals to dismantle policies and conventions that regulate the physical and cultural spaces occupied by communities of color. Also, it has been tested nationwide during the current pandemic; stipends and other opportunities should be provided to address the wealth gap (Abizeid, 2020).
The motive should be to create sustained racism-free equity. To achieve this, it is required to establish a public forum where people from communities of color are invited to share their lived experiences – both in everyday life and otherwise – and where the hosting white community members listen, acknowledge, and respond to those experiences. Such a forum and acknowledgment that emerge from it should be considered to develop a shared understanding of racism, racial impacts, and the need to establish an equitable community.
References
Abizeid, M. (2020). Structural racism and COVID-19: The political divide, re-opening the society and health impacts on people of color. Berkeley News. https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/06/26/structural-racism-and-covid19-the-political-divide-re-opening-the-society-and-health-impacts-on-people-of-color/
Peoples, S. (2021). Analysis: A reckoning on racism? Not for many leaders of GOP. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/politics-death-of-daunte-wright-race-and-ethnicity-government-and-politics-george-floyd-98504669d2baac0f061ca920a52d6ab2
Perez, E. (2020). ‘People of color’ are protesting. Here’s what you need to know about this new identity. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/02/people-color-are-protesting-heres-what-you-need-know-about-this-new-identity/