When Will We Believe Black People?
image via Flaticon
As we all settled into the reality that COVID-19 was not quickly going away in March, I thought, “Well, I guess there’s nothing else I can write about. What else could possibly be relevant or worth discussing?”
Then something traumatic*, terrible, and all too common pushed through the clutter of COVID: Young Black man Ahmaud Arbery’s brutal murder by (at least) two racists. And that is something very much worth writing about.
If you are White and reading this, let’s talk about this more. If you’re my peer, may have similar thoughts to those written here. If not, let’s talk it out. If so, I’d love to hear how you’re helping right this incredible wrong.
If you are Black and reading this, I’m so, so sorry. Please take care of yourself to the extent possible. You already know and have lived what’s written below. I never want anything I write to contribute to the landslide of exposure to the bullshit that is racism in America that you have to take in every day.
I Don’t Understand
I don’t know if it’s because so many people are at home on their phones or because of the undeniability of racial motivation in this murder, but I have never before seen so many of my White peers post on social media about the loss of Black life. I don’t know why this level of unabashed racism is what it takes for so many White people to agree that racism is real and worth talking about. That White people really do murder Black people for no other reason than their Blackness.
I am so grateful this case is actually getting attention, but I hate that it took a case like this to get attention.
What Else Will It Take?
It is frustrating to me that it took this much. It is infuriating to me that it will take even more. That it will continue to be a burden on the Black community that White people don’t believe them when they say they are dying at the hands of White people. It takes a ton of privilege and an aggressive helping of fragility to choose to be blind to this reality.
I believe these men felt empowered by our racist president. I believe these men felt empowered by a criminal justice system that disproportionately negatively impacts people of color, especially Black men. I believe more than anything though, that what contributed most to this death was something seemingly (to many) benign. A lack of conversations about these grim realities; A lack of White people speaking up when they hear stereotyped and racist talk; The mass acceptance of microaggressions that are perpetrated against people of color every day… this is what leads to a mindset these two men held. A mindset that told them it was okay to murder Ahmaud Arbery just because he was Black.
What Can You Do?
While I’m frustrated and infuriated, I’m also hopeful that the attention this case has received is a positive sign of change to come.
If you’re reading this or are a peer of mine, I’m assuming we’re close to if not on the same page. But I truly hope this post reaches beyond those with whom I typically discuss issues such as these. We are all living in echo chambers to a certain extent, and that’s another contributor to violent acts of racism that I honestly don’t know how to address. Here’s what I do know can help:
First, educate yourself. Follow people whose posts make you uncomfortable. Read books that make you uncomfortable. If you are nodding in agreement with everything you’re reading and it’s not making you ask yourself hard questions, find something else. Growing up I was conditioned to think the things I’m writing in this very post are radical. What’s truly radical is the fact that so many Black people die doing things we should all feel safe doing. Who do you follow that helps you expand your perspective? Who makes you uncomfortable? Please share in the comments so we can grow together.
Second, if you see something, say something. If your family members, friends, bosses, colleagues, or kids say something racist or engage a stereotype in an attempt to get a laugh or feel connection, say something. Education comes first so you know what to say, but even, “Hey, that’s racist, and it’s not okay. I will not accept that kind of language,” is a good place to start. It is not enough to simply think it and not engage in these acts yourself. Start discussions about difficult cases such as Ahmaud Arbery’s that will unfortunately continue to come to light. Maybe by discussing them we can at least slow their rate.
Third, vote for anti-racist policies and leaders — locally and nationally. Put people of color in positions of power so their voices will be amplified. On a smaller scale, use your privilege to incorporate diverse voices in your own personal spheres. Pay Black artists and writers for their work and ideas.
These are small steps, and they are not enough. I honestly don’t know what “enough” will even look like. I know these steps are literally the least we can do. People’s lives literally depend on it.
*Of course it was traumatic on some level for everyone who learned of and saw the video of Arbery’s death, but more specifically I mean that it is traumatic for the Black community who bears the burden of many such race-driven murders of their people. Many of us know what it is to carry either present trauma or intergenerational trauma. Black individuals are exposed to these trauma reminders on some level daily - it is imbedded in their everyday lives by nature of living in a systemically oppressive country. But they are exposed to new actual traumas of the deaths of people who look like them on a grossly regular basis. That is the trauma to which I am referring.