Racial Justice

Show some respect.  These are the words I keep hearing directed at people of color.

Show some respect.  If you just showed respect for authority, the police wouldn’t shoot you.  Show some respect.  Don’t block traffic with your protests, some of us have jobs to get to.  Show some respect.  Stand up for the National Anthem and salute our flag, because someone died defending your freedom.

Violent.  Uneducated.  Thug.  Lazy.  Criminal.  Promiscuous.  Poor.  Ghetto.  Shady.  Gang-banger.  Inarticulate.   Unprofessional.  Disrespectful.

Imagine walking through life carrying those words with you.  Knowing that no matter what you do and no matter who you are, the first words many associate with you as soon as they see the color of your skin, are those words.  Imagine how you would interact with that world.

As a gay American, I resonated with gay soccer player, Megan Rapinoe, when she took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and said she knows, “what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties.”  For years, I stood every Monday as a teacher and led my class in the pledge, but the words “liberty and justice for all” cut right through me every time.  To me, it felt like a lie.  At the time, I didn’t have the freedom to marry my wife.  And today, I know that our policies do not support the admirable theme of “liberty and justice for all.”

Racism is thriving in America.  And, it is growing as a result of the normalization and attention that white nationalist ideals have received on a national stage during this election cycle.  Donald Trump is not the cause of this trend.  Donald Trump is the effect.  Donald Trump speaks for millions upon millions of Americans.  And, that voice is not something we can allow to claim power ever again.

Recently, Hillary Clinton dabbled in an area that Donald Trump is quite proudly proficient in: political incorrectness.  She aimed to put half of Donald Trump supporters into what she called “the basket of deplorables.”  She called them “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic-you name it.”  It was inappropriate, and an uncharacteristic move for Clinton.  It was also true.

Nearly 60% of Trump supporters hold unfavorable views of Islam.  According to the Atlantic, 76% support a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.  According to Reuters, 40% of Trump supporters are likely to describe African Americans as “criminal, unintelligent, lazy, and violent.”  That is racism, or “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.”  One who holds those views, is indeed racist.   

But, racism is not just reserved for Trump supporters.  It’s in all of us.  And, it is very real.  So is white privilege.  (Don’t know what white privilege is?  I strongly recommend this eighth grader’s poem, White Boy Privilege.)   “White sounding names” are 50% more likely to get a call back for a job interview than “black sounding names.”  Black people receive 60% longer sentences than white people for the same crime.   I could walk into any fancy hotel or restaurant just to use the bathroom, and no one would think twice.  My race is well represented positively in books, movies, and theater.  No one is surprised when I am articulate and well-spoken.  I can go to the store unshowered, and in sweats, and no one suspects that I am poor or lazy or that I might steal something.  No one suspects me of terrorism.  I can get pulled over for speeding and not worry that the encounter will end in my death.   No one associates me with people like Dylann Roof, who killed 9 black people attending a prayer service, just because we’re both white.  But, we call for a ban on all Muslims due to the crimes of radical jihadists because they look alike.

Speaking of radical jihadists, no one who was alive and aware on September 11, 2001, will ever forget where they were or how they felt on that day.  We just honored the 15 year anniversary and the #neverforget hashtag was spread all across facebook and twitter as it should be.  But, what about the other days in our history that we should #neverforget?

Never forget January 1, 1863.  This was the day that Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves, which 20% of Trump supporters in South Carolina regret.  Never forget that prior to this, black people were held as property by white people.  They were not free to marry nor did they have the right to stay with their own families.  They were bought and sold as property.

Never forget that in July of 1938, fewer than 5% of Americans surveyed felt that we should increase immigration quotas in order to allow more Jewish refugees fleeing the terror that was rising in Europe into the United States.  In fact, two-thirds agreed that we should try to keep them out.

Never forget August 6, 1945.  This was one of only two days that an atomic bomb was used and it was used by the United States against innocent people in Hiroshima, Japan.  Never forget August 9, 1945, the second time an atomic bomb was used by the United States against Nagasaki, Japan.  Over 129,000 Japanese were killed by the United States.

Never forget November 14, 1960 when a 6 year old black girl by the name of Ruby Bridges walked into William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, LA surrounded by a team of U.S. Marshalls and met by a vicious mob of people yelling and throwing things at her.  She was taught by herself for the first year due to the parents of white students refusing to have their children attend school with a black student.  Stop and think.  Which modern day political party do you believe would champion Ruby Bridges today?  Whose supporters would be shouting and throwing things?

Never forget September 15, 1963 when 4 members of the Ku Klux Klan planted 15 sticks of dynamite beneath the 16th Street Baptist Church killing 4 African American girls and wounding 22 others.

Never forget June 7, 1998 when three white men, including 2 known white supremacists, dragged black man, James Byrd, behind a pick-up truck for three miles, killing him.

Never forget August 5, 2012.  On this day, a 40 year old white supremacist shot and killed 6 members of the Sikh faith and wounded four others at a Sikh temple.

Never forget June 17, 2015.  On this day Dylann Roof killed nine African Americans attending a prayer service.

Never forget Japanese Internment Camps, Jim Crow Laws, lynchings of black people, or the Civil Rights Movement.  I repeat, white supremacy must never rise in this country again.

This is why Black Lives Matter is a movement.  Because, in our culture, the evidence is to the contrary.  I’ll be honest.  The first time I saw the words, “black lives matter,” I immediately thought, “all lives matter.”  I didn’t get it.  I was blind to my own privilege.  My wife, a social justice worker, spoke of things like systemic racism, and white privilege, and I arrogantly thought that I was above all of that.  I thought that I was more evolved than the typical human and that I treated people fairly.  I spent the majority of the evening during the Thanksgiving of 2014 researching the shooting death of Michael Brown.  I wanted to hear all sides of the issue, and I came to, what I thought was the very educated conclusion, that his death was being blown out of proportion.  I was wrong.

Maybe you saw what I initially saw: a man who had actually committed a crime being stopped, reacting poorly, getting in the officer’s face, and getting shot.  Maybe you thought what I initially thought:  if he had just cooperated, he’d still be alive.  Maybe you believed what I initially believed:  this has nothing to do with race, it has to do with crime.

But, there is more to the story of Ferguson.  The Department of Justice investigated Ferguson police and found this as reported by The New York Times, “[Black people] accounted for 85 percent of traffic stops, 90 percent of tickets and 93 percent of arrests. In cases like jaywalking, which often hinge on police discretion, blacks accounted for 95 percent of all arrests.”  Maybe you’re thinking, black people just committed more crimes.  Wrong.  Officials were actually more likely to find contraband on white people.  Despite that, they continued to target black people.  That is racial profiling stemming from the racial bias we all carry in this country.  What is happening in the police force is representative of what is present in our society at large.

Here are some examples of some of the jokes circulated via e-mail by Ferguson officials:

• Barack Obama would not be president long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years?”
• Another email included a cartoon depicting African-Americans as monkeys.
• A third described black women having abortions as a way to curb crime.

5 times as many whites are using drugs as blacks, but blacks are sent to prison for drug offenses at a rate of 10 times the rate of whites.  African Americans serve nearly as much time in prison for non-violent drug offenses (58.7 months) as whites do for violent offenses (61.7 months).  

According to the Ferguson report, a black motorist who is pulled over is twice as likely to be searched than a white motorist.  When whites were charged with crimes such as disturbing the peace and jaywalking, they were 68% more likely to have their case dismissed.

The report’s conclusion: “The Ferguson Police Department was routinely violating the constitutional rights of its black residents.”  Similar findings have been made in the cities of Albuquerque, Newark, and Cleveland.

Still, as a lifelong supporter of police and a grandchild of an officer killed in the line of duty, it took me more time than I would like to admit to come around to the understanding that systemic racism is real, white privilege is real, implicit bias is real, and one of the many places that is playing out is in our police force.  Maybe it was Sandra Bland.  Maybe it was Tamir Rice.  But, by the time it got to Philando Castile, 1 mile from my house, at a site I drive by every day, with respondents from the very police force my grandfather served, I couldn’t deny it anymore.  And, I couldn’t keep quiet about it any more.

I still hear comments, all from white people, such as, “Well, what happened before the video?” or “Well, if he didn’t have the gun” (which was legal) which, to me, translates to, “This couldn’t happen to me.”  And, that’s probably true.  But, what if nothing happened before the video?  What if everything you heard is exactly what happened?  What if the only reason it can’t happen to you has nothing to do with your level of respect for authority or your compliance with the law, but because you’re not black?  

Philando Castile was stopped by police 46 times in his life and of all those stops, only 6 of them were for things a police officer could notice outside of a car.  Does this mean all police are bad?  No.  Is this an attack on police?  Absolutely not.  I believe in supporting our police.  What is happening in the police force is representative of the implicit bias we ALL carry and must work to dismantle.

This is why I am vocal and open about my support for Hillary Clinton.  She will support legislation to end racial profiling.  She will develop national guidelines on the use of force by police officers, emphasizing proven methods for de-escalation.

She will focus on gun violence which is the leading cause of death for African American men by far by cracking down on gun stores that flood our communities with illegal guns.

Additionally, as she says, “Clean air and clean water are basic human rights. But too many children in low-income housing are exposed to lead. African American children are twice as likely to suffer from asthma as white children. Half of our nation’s Latino population lives in areas where the air quality does not meet the EPA’s health standards—and climate change will put vulnerable populations at even greater risk. “  She will work to reduce air pollution and invest in the removal of toxins such as lead.  She has plans for infrastructure that are green and resilient, as well as plans for clean energy and the cleaning up of highly polluted toxic sites.  

To address the achievement gap, she will double America's investment in Early Head Start and ensure that every 4 year old in America has access to early childhood education.  She will double the subsidy available to areas that need to rebuild their crumbling schools and provide $2 billion to reform overly disciplinary policies and encourage schools to implement social and emotional interventions in order to dismantle the school to prison pipeline.

Despite this, Donald Trump still claims, to cheers, that “Hillary Clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings worthy of a better future.”  This isn’t just a matter of a woman saying anything to get elected.  I have been researching this election in depth since March and time after time after time, this women has the most detailed plans and the most experience in making these plans a reality than any political candidate I have ever seen.    She has been fighting racial inequality since her days as a lawyer where she investigated school segregation in Alabama.  As First Lady of Arkansas, she started a legal aid clinic for low-income people, plus a program to help low-income parents prepare their kids for school success that is now in more than 20 states.  As First Lady of the United States, she helped pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which now covers more than 8 million kids, and helped reform the foster care and adoption system.  As US Senator, she co-sponsored legislation to end racial profiling and implement sentencing reforms.  She fought to restore voting rights and worked with Obama as a senator to fight lead poisoning.

Anyone who says that Clinton lacks positive accomplishments, is only in politics for her own personal gains, is bought by Wall Street and special interests, is corrupt, and can’t be trusted, has bought into one of the greatest myths of all time.  I have read and listened and searched for any reason not to trust her or not to vote for her and it simply isn’t there.  “Scandal” after scandal has yielded absolutely nothing.  There are many that want to stop her.  Many who are bought by special interests.  Many who want the rich to get richer.  Many driven by white nationalism and supremacy. But, in the words of Garrison Keillor, “Someday, historians will get this right and look back at the steady pitter-pat of scandals that turned out to be nothing, nada, zero and ixnay and will conclude that, almost a century after women’s suffrage, almost 45 years after Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law, a woman was required to run for office wearing concrete shoes.”

Now, I’m just going to come right out and say it.  Donald Trump must never lead this country.  White supremacy must never come to power in the United States again.  Donald Trump supports racial profiling.  This is the definition of prejudice which at its root is literally pre-judging a person.  This should not comes as a surprise from someone who has built his campaign on playing to stereotypes and overgeneralizations.  But, he actually supports racial profiling.  He also supports the racially discriminatory Voter ID laws proven to suppress the African American vote.

But, most concerning, Donald Trump is normalizing white supremacy.  I’m not just making a sensationalized accusation.   There is ample evidence to back this up.  He regularly re-tweets tweets from white supremacists including the fake graphic I have posted here (and have seen way too many of my own family and friends re-post) that has been proven to have false statistics with the intent to discredit the Black Lives Matter movement.

Now, of course there are people who will say that Donald Trump is not a racist, such as David Duke, one of Trump’s most vocal public supporters.  David Duke is the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and current contender to become a U.S. Senator from Louisiana.  He is working to claim Trump voters in Louisiana by claiming, “As a United States senator, nobody will be more supportive of his legislative agenda, his Supreme Court agenda than I will.”  He told NPR’s Steve Inskeep, “We’ve done the analysis of what’s going on in Louisiana. We’ve already polled inside the Trump voters, and we know we’re gonna carry 75 to 80 percent of those who are going to vote for Trump.”  

When Inskeep asked, “You think Trump voters are your voters?”  Duke responded, “Well of course they are, because I represent the ideas of preserving this country and the heritage of this country and I think Trump represents that as well."

He has won the support and praise of numerous white supremacists, including David Duke.  The alt right movement is experiencing a sort of renaissance coming out from behind the security and anonymity of their message boards and online chatrooms, ready to organize.  Donald Trump is the first candidate they have been able to rally around in decades.  Alt right leading figure, Richard Spencer, recently stated in a press conference, “It is in a way projecting on to [Trump] our hopes and dreams.  We have not been made by Trump, but we want to make Trump and we want to imagine him in our image...Certainly, we have been riding his coattails.  There has been more interest in us because we have generally been pro-Trump."

At the same press conference Spencer was quoted at, leading figure, Jared Taylor, also spoke. “Taylor told the audience that his job wouldn't be over until at a PTA meeting, a woman could rise to defend the fact that fewer African Americans were in AP classes because they had a lower IQ and ‘no one objects.’”

Maybe some might argue that just because these far right, white supremacists support Trump, he wouldn’t support them.  Well, recall that Trump hired Steve Bannon as his campaign manager.  Bannon is the CEO of Breitbart news, known for promoting white nationalism.  In March, he published a piece on the alternative right where he praised Spencer and others as intellectuals.

And, let’s not forget the things Trump has actually said and done.

• He insinuated that the Muslim mother of the late Army Captain Humayun Khan stood silently beside her husband at the Democratic National Convention because, “maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say” instead of the idea that she was just overcome with grief.
• House Speaker Paul Ryan said that Trump’s implication that a Mexican judge couldn’t fairly do his job because of his race was a “textbook definition of a racist comment.”
• His company has been sued twice for not renting to black applicants.  Once in 1973 and again in 1978.
• Even if he recently came out and admitted that Barack Obama was born in the United States and tried to pin the birther movement on Hillary Clinton, he spent 5 years perpetuating that racist myth.
• He openly and repeatedly calls United States Senator, Elizabeth Warren, Pocahontas.
• And, he wants to ban Muslims from entering the country!

His supporters have been emboldened to physically assault black lives matter protesters, hispanics, and Muslims.  This is reminiscent of the rise in hate crimes following the Brexit decision in Europe.  When this ideology is championed on a national stage by a major political figure, hate become justified.  I will say it again, we must never allow white supremacy to rise in this country again.

Some argue that Trump supporters are equally assaulted.  Assault is assault and I don’t condone any of it.  But, I must point out that no one is attacking Trump supporters in the name of Hillary Clinton.  Hillary Clinton’s ideals and policy proposals are not condoning violence.  Trump’s are.  And, he does not disavow it.  In fact, he has even offered to pay the legal fees of attackers and dismissed the attackers that beat up a homeless Hispanic man as simply passionate.  To say that Clinton supporters are just as violent as Trump supporters is a complete false equivalency.  

Donald Trump’s policy proposals and rhetoric show no respect.  Imagine if all that energy that is directed at people of color to show some respect was re-directed at the people and systems that insist on keeping them in their place.  In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. in his letter from Birmingham Jail,

“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action’; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’ Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

Or, in the words of South African apartheid opponent, Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

So, I beg of you, well-intentioned white people, to speak up.  I beg of you to listen to their stories.  I beg of you to vote against this horrible white supremacist uprising and for progress.  I beg of you to come out for racial justice.  Because, if you think you’re keeping the peace by staying out of politics, you’re not.  Racism, bigotry, and divisiveness are rising and saying nothing will not stop it.  In the words made famous by John F. Kennedy, but originally attributed to Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  

Show some respect for their stories.  Show some respect for their struggles.  Show some respect for their protest.  Show some respect.