I'm sure a lot of people and I, myself, have not forgotten George Floyd and his murder by a police officer. It's good that this unspeakable action by the former officer, whose name I would like to forget, was adjudicated in state court. Otherwise, our insane Nero would have pardoned him already.
The author is hopelessly naive. Discussing racism is not acceptable. Not to MAGA, not to Trump, not to Republicans. The word “racism”, when talking about how America has treated Blacks, is too woke. Such an acknowledgement of racism discriminates against whites. White grievance is what matters. Racism is only acceptable when applied to whites. Such an attitude is pathetic, built on white insecurity, I know. But that’s Trump and MAGA. Pathetic little whiny white racists - all of them.
Not hopelessly naive. We continue to discuss racism right here, and many corporations jumped onto the Biden DEI bandwagon with real consequences for Black people’s opportunities. Since Trump issued his mandate to dismantle DEI (just a couple of months ago, remember), many companies divested themselves of the burden—and many Black women, in particular, lost their jobs (a huge surprise to me, I must say). Hopefully, these dismissed workers and their families are radicalized to the nth degree and will retaliate in local, state, and national politics. Let’s not forget that though this corrupt regime is a neofascist blight on the USA, we loathe racism and will never cave.
Certainly there are many of us who despise racism. Just not enough. I had no idea of the depth and the power of the racism that persists in our country, and that it would elect the anti-immigrant, anti-DEI champion of white resentment - Trump. Which makes me naive, too.
Thank you for raising all of these points and keeping this discussion going. I would argue that Joe Biden took steps as president to rectify the harm and imbalance caused by racism, by appointing many POC to judgeships and other posts, and by reminding us, even if it wasn't true, that regarding bigotry, "that's not who we are." But a tolerant populace is what many Americans strive to be. It's up to us readers to rectify what we can as individuals, one little bit at a time.
I am not sure people have forgotten George Floyd or the protests that followed.
I know I have not forgotten. I believe that it impels protests for due process for everyone. More people are taking to heart the idea that behavior against any of us, is behavior against all of us.
The backlash is also a sign that those protests changed minds, changed so many, it's dangerous to MAGA America.
Right now our world is on the edge, our democracy more than just threatened. We can't know right now if the backlash is the new America. But many Americans believe it shouldn't be. And that comes from what we learned from remembering George Floyd.
Mr. Floyd's death is indeed a tragedy, and thanks to the brave young woman who recorded his horrific murder, we know about it. Others have died in equally horrific circumstances. One such death that sticks in my mind is that of Sandra Bland. She was (most likely happily) driving through the Texas countryside on her way to a new job. If she were like me, she was feeling carefree with had music playing on what I imagine was a sunny but not too hot day. I've made many such drives through the wide open roads in Texas. After a police stop for failing to signal a lane change—yes, FAILING TO SIGNAL A LANE CHANGE–most likely because there was almost no other traffic, Ms. Bland was ultimately arrested. Three days later she was found hanged in her cell. Eventually, the trooper's dashcam video of her traffic stop led to a large monetary award to Ms. Bland's family and the firing of the state trooper. Let the anniversary of Mr. Floyd's murder remind us of the many Black men and women who have died in similar—unrecorded—circumstances.
The collective amnesia of the American public continues to amaze. "Discussing racism is acceptable, rectifying it isn't". Too many have embraced the White supremacist narrative and don't recognize the erosion of civil rights for all Americans under the Trump regime. Let's hope they wake up soon.
I grew up in segregated Broward County Florida in the '50's and '60's. There had been a lynching there as late as 1935. Maybe we don't have people hanging from trees anymore (strange fruit) but the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis (Rep Lucy McBath's son) and Michael Brown among hundreds of others are lynchings nonetheless. I don't call it progress that it happens without the trees and the audience as it did early in the 20th century. Lezley McSpadden, Mike Brown's mother is still fighting for justice.
This really resonates with me as a practitioner and educator specializing in DEI in higher education. Just this past week a junior colleague (self admitted white-passing Latino) tell me it was an artifact of my age that I was so focused on civil rights. They actually claimed that there was no real interest or need for racial justice!
There is always a backlash. That's our history, and we continue to repeat it. After the Civil War and emancipation came Reconstruction, with severe repression of Black rights. After black communities gained wealth, they were destroyed as in the Greenwood district of Tulsa Oklahoma in 1921. After Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in schools, white folks established and fled to charter schools. After President Johnson signed civil rights bills into law, Southern white folks deserted the Democratic party. After the first Black president, the country elected his most racist, vindictive opponent. After George Floyd and DEI, we re-elected the most repressive and racist regime ever in our history.
Thank you for this insightful, information on the status of institutional racism in America. Since I have a beloved granddaughter and son-in-law with some African heritage I am aware of the existence of racism in the practice of medicine. This is very odd to me as my long deceased daughter was a physician and she would have been infuriated by the treatment of her daughter and husband as well as her sister-in-law and mother-in-law.
George Floyd was a very low level street hustler and substance abuser. He was murdered by a police officer in front of withesses. Clearly the officer had no respect whatever for Floye's humanity. He literally belived that black lives, especially the life of a low level misdemeaner street crook, did not matter. Few episodes of police miscondult are so blatent and obvious even to white racists. I don't think anyone has forgotten it. But no, this episode has not eliminated racism, justified racial preferences in hiring and education or made our nation's history of slavery, Jim Crow in the South or racial discrimination in housing in the North simply disappear. MLK's vison of a society where people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character is not here and not yet close. We all, white and black, have to continue to work on it.
“The racist system is not just literally killing Black people; it is tearing the whole nation apart. In every aspect of life, from socioeconomics to education, the workforce, criminal justice, and, very importantly, health outcomes, for the most part the trajectory for Black people is not improving,” Winters explains. “It is paradoxical that with all the attention over the last 50 years on social justice and diversity and inclusion, we have made little progress in actualizing the vision of an equitable society.”
I disagree with this statement. The election of Trump was a part of the backlash that has arisen to DEI initiatives, but more importantly it has shone with blinding light the racism that is tearing the country apart. Those of us who have awoken to the historic racism have not forgotten what our country has as a legacy of marginalization and unjust systems. We have not lost our outrage or our mission to continue this fight. The delusion coming from this current administration is proof that they fear this awakening more than reason. We aren't abandoning the cause. Those that deny the injustices and historic racism are terrified of the truth, but George Floyd and all the victims of their fear are on the right side of history and will push us forward. Please don't allow this abomination of an administration to dishearten you, see it as the desperation of those who know their failure and their cause as their death knell.
I'm sure a lot of people and I, myself, have not forgotten George Floyd and his murder by a police officer. It's good that this unspeakable action by the former officer, whose name I would like to forget, was adjudicated in state court. Otherwise, our insane Nero would have pardoned him already.
The author is hopelessly naive. Discussing racism is not acceptable. Not to MAGA, not to Trump, not to Republicans. The word “racism”, when talking about how America has treated Blacks, is too woke. Such an acknowledgement of racism discriminates against whites. White grievance is what matters. Racism is only acceptable when applied to whites. Such an attitude is pathetic, built on white insecurity, I know. But that’s Trump and MAGA. Pathetic little whiny white racists - all of them.
Not hopelessly naive. We continue to discuss racism right here, and many corporations jumped onto the Biden DEI bandwagon with real consequences for Black people’s opportunities. Since Trump issued his mandate to dismantle DEI (just a couple of months ago, remember), many companies divested themselves of the burden—and many Black women, in particular, lost their jobs (a huge surprise to me, I must say). Hopefully, these dismissed workers and their families are radicalized to the nth degree and will retaliate in local, state, and national politics. Let’s not forget that though this corrupt regime is a neofascist blight on the USA, we loathe racism and will never cave.
Certainly there are many of us who despise racism. Just not enough. I had no idea of the depth and the power of the racism that persists in our country, and that it would elect the anti-immigrant, anti-DEI champion of white resentment - Trump. Which makes me naive, too.
To be fair, the media played up Trump like he was the messiah, and he is, for fascism and white patriarchy (which may be the same thing).
Poor little white people.
Thank you for raising all of these points and keeping this discussion going. I would argue that Joe Biden took steps as president to rectify the harm and imbalance caused by racism, by appointing many POC to judgeships and other posts, and by reminding us, even if it wasn't true, that regarding bigotry, "that's not who we are." But a tolerant populace is what many Americans strive to be. It's up to us readers to rectify what we can as individuals, one little bit at a time.
I am not sure people have forgotten George Floyd or the protests that followed.
I know I have not forgotten. I believe that it impels protests for due process for everyone. More people are taking to heart the idea that behavior against any of us, is behavior against all of us.
The backlash is also a sign that those protests changed minds, changed so many, it's dangerous to MAGA America.
Right now our world is on the edge, our democracy more than just threatened. We can't know right now if the backlash is the new America. But many Americans believe it shouldn't be. And that comes from what we learned from remembering George Floyd.
Mr. Floyd's death is indeed a tragedy, and thanks to the brave young woman who recorded his horrific murder, we know about it. Others have died in equally horrific circumstances. One such death that sticks in my mind is that of Sandra Bland. She was (most likely happily) driving through the Texas countryside on her way to a new job. If she were like me, she was feeling carefree with had music playing on what I imagine was a sunny but not too hot day. I've made many such drives through the wide open roads in Texas. After a police stop for failing to signal a lane change—yes, FAILING TO SIGNAL A LANE CHANGE–most likely because there was almost no other traffic, Ms. Bland was ultimately arrested. Three days later she was found hanged in her cell. Eventually, the trooper's dashcam video of her traffic stop led to a large monetary award to Ms. Bland's family and the firing of the state trooper. Let the anniversary of Mr. Floyd's murder remind us of the many Black men and women who have died in similar—unrecorded—circumstances.
The collective amnesia of the American public continues to amaze. "Discussing racism is acceptable, rectifying it isn't". Too many have embraced the White supremacist narrative and don't recognize the erosion of civil rights for all Americans under the Trump regime. Let's hope they wake up soon.
I grew up in segregated Broward County Florida in the '50's and '60's. There had been a lynching there as late as 1935. Maybe we don't have people hanging from trees anymore (strange fruit) but the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis (Rep Lucy McBath's son) and Michael Brown among hundreds of others are lynchings nonetheless. I don't call it progress that it happens without the trees and the audience as it did early in the 20th century. Lezley McSpadden, Mike Brown's mother is still fighting for justice.
This really resonates with me as a practitioner and educator specializing in DEI in higher education. Just this past week a junior colleague (self admitted white-passing Latino) tell me it was an artifact of my age that I was so focused on civil rights. They actually claimed that there was no real interest or need for racial justice!
One consequence of piling horror on horror is that they tend to blend together. Thank you for reminding us of that which we must not forget.
There is always a backlash. That's our history, and we continue to repeat it. After the Civil War and emancipation came Reconstruction, with severe repression of Black rights. After black communities gained wealth, they were destroyed as in the Greenwood district of Tulsa Oklahoma in 1921. After Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in schools, white folks established and fled to charter schools. After President Johnson signed civil rights bills into law, Southern white folks deserted the Democratic party. After the first Black president, the country elected his most racist, vindictive opponent. After George Floyd and DEI, we re-elected the most repressive and racist regime ever in our history.
We have a national dementia.
Terrific piece.
My father was racist.
My children are not.
The struggle continues and we are all in it together until equality is real for all.
Thank you for this insightful, information on the status of institutional racism in America. Since I have a beloved granddaughter and son-in-law with some African heritage I am aware of the existence of racism in the practice of medicine. This is very odd to me as my long deceased daughter was a physician and she would have been infuriated by the treatment of her daughter and husband as well as her sister-in-law and mother-in-law.
George Floyd was a very low level street hustler and substance abuser. He was murdered by a police officer in front of withesses. Clearly the officer had no respect whatever for Floye's humanity. He literally belived that black lives, especially the life of a low level misdemeaner street crook, did not matter. Few episodes of police miscondult are so blatent and obvious even to white racists. I don't think anyone has forgotten it. But no, this episode has not eliminated racism, justified racial preferences in hiring and education or made our nation's history of slavery, Jim Crow in the South or racial discrimination in housing in the North simply disappear. MLK's vison of a society where people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character is not here and not yet close. We all, white and black, have to continue to work on it.
I will read the message when there is more time, but please know that George Floyd is not forgotten.
“The racist system is not just literally killing Black people; it is tearing the whole nation apart. In every aspect of life, from socioeconomics to education, the workforce, criminal justice, and, very importantly, health outcomes, for the most part the trajectory for Black people is not improving,” Winters explains. “It is paradoxical that with all the attention over the last 50 years on social justice and diversity and inclusion, we have made little progress in actualizing the vision of an equitable society.”
I disagree with this statement. The election of Trump was a part of the backlash that has arisen to DEI initiatives, but more importantly it has shone with blinding light the racism that is tearing the country apart. Those of us who have awoken to the historic racism have not forgotten what our country has as a legacy of marginalization and unjust systems. We have not lost our outrage or our mission to continue this fight. The delusion coming from this current administration is proof that they fear this awakening more than reason. We aren't abandoning the cause. Those that deny the injustices and historic racism are terrified of the truth, but George Floyd and all the victims of their fear are on the right side of history and will push us forward. Please don't allow this abomination of an administration to dishearten you, see it as the desperation of those who know their failure and their cause as their death knell.