If not riots, then…?
First, I understand that I have not experienced one ounce of the discrimination that minority communities have had to face for centuries. Still, my privilege doesn’t make me blind to these injustices. I’ve held back on a post (aside from sharing a few Instagram stories) because it’s not my perspective that needs to be heard right now. But I’ve seen too many articles and tweets condemning the riots and I’m worried we’re losing focus on the dead black man murdered in broad daylight by somebody who had sworn to protect and serve. “I can’t breathe” can’t become another version of “thoughts and prayers.”
If violent unrest isn’t the answer then what is? How exactly do you go about ending systemic racism in America? Should everyone go home and write sternly worded letters to their representative? Should they peacefully take a knee? Should people patiently wait for incremental change?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not glorifying violence — that’s what the president is doing. And I’m certainly not calling for violence. I’m simply saying we must seriously examine what we call “rioting” or “looting,” and and what we call “policy.” White people have participated in a quiet riot against black people for generations. White people have looted black neighborhoods, schools, and wealth through systematic redlining, evictions, and foreclosures. White people have murdered black man, after black man, after black man. And then white people demand a “peaceful” voicing of grievances.
When peaceful requests consistently fail to elicit changes that are a matter of life and death, we shouldn’t expect endless forbearance from the victims.
FYI White People Don’t Like “Peaceful” Protests, Either
Most white people reject violent measures to combat racial inequity and reject disruptive, nonviolent demonstrations, even while a majority of them agree that racism remains a big problem in American society. If rioting is the wrong way to persuade authorities or white Americans to bring about long-needed changes, what is the right way? Most white people have never been sympathetic to any of the methods used in the long fight for racial equality — including quiet, peaceful, non-disruptive protests.
- Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington is now remembered as a proud moment in American history. But at the time, a Gallup poll found, only 23% of Americans had a favorable opinion of this peaceful protest. Asked in 1964 whether “mass demonstrations by Negroes are more likely to help or more likely to hurt the Negro’s cause for racial equality,” 74% said they would hurt.
- In 2014, after several African Americans were killed by cops, Black Lives Matter organized rallies to demand reforms. Though some of the protests blocked streets and snarled traffic, they were largely nonviolent. The movement commanded broad support among African Americans. But 59% of whites said it “distracts attention from the real issues of racial discrimination,” according to a 2015 PBS News Hour/Marist poll.
- Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players tried peaceful demonstrations when they kneeled during the national anthem to bring attention to police brutality. And imagine this: In a 2018 Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 58% of whites said such protests were “never appropriate.”
- When people gathered peacefully in Minneapolis, the police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.
White America is always insisting that African Americans find an appropriate way to register their complaints and demands. It is not the job of black people to show white people their oppression in the (apparently non-existent) way that makes white people most comfortable.
What if the abuses that generated these protests bothered white people more than the methods of protest? Rioting may not bring about the changes that would establish genuine equality for black Americans. But neither has anything else. Besides, have we forgotten that riots are typically how rights are fought for and won in this country (consider the Revolutionary War, women’s rights, or gay rights)?
So, dear white people, what is the “appropriate” way for black people to share their anger? Or can we take a minute to stop criticizing the reaction during an already stressful time and actually do something about systematic racism, suppression, violence, and murder?
Doing Something
This is not the time for small, incremental change over time. I am reminded of a quote by Bell Hooks from the book I’m currently reading… because, let’s face it, we’re all okay with radical change when it suits us.
“Fear of radical changes leads many citizens of our nation to betray their minds and hearts. Yet we are all subjected to radical changes every day. We face them by moving through fear. These changes are usually imposed by the status quo. For example, revolutionary new technologies have led us all to accept computers. Our willingness to embrace this “unknown” shows that we are all capable of confronting fears of radical change, that we can cope. Obviously, it is not in the interest of the conservative status quo to encourage us to confront our collective fear of love. An overall cultural embrace of a love ethic would mean that we would all oppose much of the public policy conservatives condone and support. Society’s collective fear of love must be faced if we are to lay claim to a love ethic that can inspire us and give us the courage to make the necessary changes.”
So here are the two things I think we need (but both should be informed by an opening, listening heart and mind from us white folks to the people who actually have the perspective here):
- We need rapid, systematic change across the country. We need to stop pretending that these are isolated incidents. We need to fight systemic racism, in all forms, that are so deeply rooted in our society. Policies should address education, criminal justice, health, housing, employment, and communities. This is a several hundred year old issue — it’s going to require a strong and complex set of policy responses.
- We also need to address racism at the dinner table, in our families, and with our friends. How can we expect systematic change if we can’t even have the conversation with the people we love?
If you’re a regular white person thinking you’re not racist and this isn’t your issue to fix, here’s your homework:
