We, the People

These are difficult times. 

Not only are we deep into efforts to contain and eradicate Covid-19 and the economic damage that attends these efforts, but now we are also experiencing an unexpected level of civil unrest in our cities. The issue is all-too-familiar: the death of a yet another black man, George Floyd, at the hands of white police officers. 

I am old enough to have seen many events like this before. After each killing, after grieving the senseless loss of a particular life, after mourning over the cloud that settles again over the black community, I hope and pray that things will be different now, that the people who need to understand and change will understand and change.

From where I watch this national trauma unfold, it seems obvious that the rash of demonstrations spurred by this police killing are not like demonstrations I have seen before. Yes, they were sparked by the senseless, unnecessary, and damnable act itself; and, yes, protest against racism is the central element of all the demonstrations. 

But there are enormous differences too. I find myself reminded over and over of the “police riots” of 1968 in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention. Those clashes between Chicago Police and protesters were as much about the exclusion of whole categories of citizens from the political process as they were about opposition to the Vietnam War or in support of the Civil Rights movement.

The current demonstrations and protests – and, yes, the looting and burning too – have quickly absorbed many issues in addition to Floyd’s killing. Many of these “other issues” are local grievances regarding official injustice. This fact alone should tell us something about what is really going on. 

Racism sparked by Floyd’s killing is at the heart of these demonstrations, but they are also clearly about the conditions that made his death a common occurrence. The protests are about the political order that promotes and tolerates use of deadly force. What we used to call “the Establishment” is not sufficiently responsive to the needs of citizens.

While one would expect the black community to come out in protest, and it has, we are also seeing many white folks coming out in protest. And these protests are happening around the world, not just in American cities with our history of racial violence and injustice. This phenomenon, too, would affirm that the concerns of the protesters are global, that they are multi-generational and multi-racial. That protests have erupted in cities around the world suggests that the world is watching and that they want us to be better than the killings would indicate we are.

But there are some good signs too: this is the first time I can remember when members of police departments, including chiefs and mayors of cities have expressed sympathy and sometimes solidarity with the rightful aims of peaceful demonstrators. It does not happen everywhere, but in the old days it never happened.

Probably the biggest difference now from racial demonstrations and protests earlier in my life-time, say in the 1960s, is the toxic atmosphere at the top of our government that seems to encourage aggressive police action. I am speaking of the President and his self-serving drive to un-make the necessary functioning of a government. 

It is not necessary to detail this point about the President. I will simply note that the racist nature of this administration is embodied in its “Make America Great Again” slogan. If you are African American, Asian American, Hispanic American or any other “non-white” resident, what “great” era would you like to see recreated? What era is the slogan referring to? Prior to 2016, what would that era of former “greatness” be like for you?

A second significant difference between what I view on the streets now from the 1960s is me. Before beginning college in 1967, I knew exactly one African-American, a classmate whom I did not know well. And I knew no Asians. Zero. Today I know and have worked with many. Having friends in the black, brown, and Asian communities by itself has revolutionized my understanding of racism and its pernicious effects.

If we are going to see serious improvement in race relations, these calls for systemic change need to be taken seriously. The changes will have to begin with the tangible step of voting. Citizens of all ages must make voting a top priority. And as much as we need change at the top, we must also take seriously local elections that affect city, county, state, and congressional offices as well. 

These down ballot races are crucially part of the system that needs to be changed. If they are not taken seriously, the groundswell of multi-racial support for meaningful change will find itself choked out. 

And anything short of systemic change will amount to denial of justice for George Floyd.