Friday May 29, 2020 lifted the lid and showed the roiling, ugly underbelly of American culture and the still endemic system of racism woven deeply into the bones of this country. In a text to a fellow social studies teacher, I stated that we had reached a low water mark. I could not believe what had happened, what I had witnessed and knew that I could not sit by and remain silent.
Four days earlier, a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd by keeping his knee on Floyd’s neck while two other officers also held Floyd down and another kept bystanders away. This happened on camera. You could hear Floyd beg for relief, for the ability to breathe. You could hear nearby witnesses beg for mercy for George. In that moment, I wanted to travel back in time and space to that spot so that I could add my voice to the others begging for mercy. As soon as that thought entered my mind, I realized that the reason my voice may have made a difference is because I had something those witnesses did not. White skin.
On Friday I woke completely oblivious to what had just happened two hours earlier. After my walk I settled in to read. I normally don’t check Facebook that early but for some reason that day I did. I saw news reports describing the arrest of a CNN journalist live on air, a black and Latinx journalist. From there things felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
Over the past week I have taken in observations of injustice, each one hurting my heart. I read responses on Facebook from acquaintances decrying any instance of violence as justification to dismiss the protest, the reason for the protest, and the people protesting. Last Sunday, May 31, I also started reading the book White Fragility:Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo and as of this post going live have not finished. I plan to dedicate an entire post to this book and how it has helped me reframe my paradigm. For now, I will state simply that this book has helped me understand the impact of my own words and actions as well as comprehend the actions of others that I described at the start of this paragraph.
I don’t have all the answers, or most of them really. I do know that I have to start with my own words and actions, get the beam out of my own eye before I can help anyone else. In the past week I purchased several books on the topic in relation to education. I know that I have a lot to learn this summer before the next year starts. As I work through this, I want to maintain transparency so Tuesday posts on the blog will focus on the topic of racism throughout the summer and possibly beyond. My mind processes these moments of inspiration best through the written word. So far that has taken place as Facebook comments but I hope to take that writing and continue it here as well.
I welcome all thoughts and contributions here. Please engage. Please tell me when I have engaged in racist thoughts or actions. I am far from perfect. I hope on these pages you will find someone teachable and willing to help.