Weekly Newsletter, February 28, 2019
A C C O U N T A B L E A L L Y S H I P
Black History Month
When I was growing up I learned about Black History Month in school. I learned about Rosa Parks and her bravery on a bus. I learned that MLK Jr. was a civil rights activist, and died because of it. I learned that there were drinking fountains and bathrooms labeled "Whites Only". I learned about slavery and segregation. I learned that there were bad people that belonged to a hate group with tall white hats. Most of all, I learned that all of this - this thing called racism - was in the past. Slavery was abolished, busing desegregated the schools, blacks could vote, water fountains were shared, being "colorblind" was good, and the front seat of a bus was for anyone who wanted it. I remember being so relieved I didn't live in that time in history because I didn't believe I would be able to bear witnessing such injustices.
My coming of age election was Barack Obama's first term. I had seen him speak during his campaigning in 2007 and was thrilled to vote for him and proud to watch history be made as the United State's first black President took office in 2008.
For the majority of my life, I continued to believe racism was a thing of the past. Racism Hiding in plain sight from my protected white perspective.
This week, I'd like to take some time to reflect on the history we are currently creating and perpetuating. For my subscribers who are BIPOC, I would like to offer a trigger warning for the following section.
For my white subscribers, please note that the only way to move beyond our racist society is the daily work. There is no quick fix or "white savior" solution we can swoop in with to end racism. We must work to dismantle white supremacy culture, seek education about the realities of our racist society, discuss and share with other white people, and to use our white privilege to help leverage for a just and equal society. We must not remain complacent in the evil that surrounds us but does not touch us. If you feel hopeless or overwhelmed, return to the daily work. Pick up Layla Saad's Me and White Supremacy Workbook and return to your internal transformation. This is the path.
Modern Black History
18 days ago an 11 year old black boy was arrested for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Arrested. They arrested him. At 11 years old.
If an 11 year old white girl refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance because she believed it to be racist, she would NOT be arrested. In fact, she'd likely be covered in the news as a compassionate little girl who stands up for others and is going to change the world.
5 weeks ago the officer who shot and killed Laquan McDonald was sentenced to under 4 years of prison time. Laquan was 17 years old at the time of his death and was shot 16 times. Sixteen times. As difficult as it is to see, please watch the video.
6 months ago three police officers arrested and wrestled Chikesia Clemons to the ground in a Waffle House because she asked to speak with a manager. They exposed her breasts, smashed her face into the ground, and held her by her throat. Watch the video here.
White women ask to speak to managers constantly and I have never heard of an instance like this one where a white woman's body was slammed to the ground by police.
10 months ago two black men were arrested for asking to use a restroom in Starbucks. Watch the video here. They had arrived to Starbucks early for a business meeting and before their white colleague could arrive, the employee reported them to the police for sitting without ordering.
As a woman who has to pee 47 times today, I have entered countless establishments to use their restroom, left without purchasing a thing, and never been reported or harassed.
In the last 4 months the following families have asked for more coverage of their missing daughters, with little to no response from national media outlets. This is part of a proven disparity between coverage of missing persons based on race and gender. These are their little girls.
Tim’Monique Davis, missing from Moorhead, Minnesota since Jan. 20.
Anya Washington, missing from Houston, Texas since Jan. 29.
R’Mahnee Williams-Turner, missing from Palmdale, Calif., since Jan. 26.
Whitney Elliseau, missing from Lakewood, Calif., since Feb. 5.
Jada Cyrus, missing from Boston, Mass., since Jan. 29.
Myla Abanda, missing from Fairfax, Va., since Nov. 16, 2018
Kelli Allen, missing from Atlanta, Ga., since Dec. 20, 2018.
Hazana Anderson, missing from College Station, Texas, since Oct. 28, 2018.
Rae’vanna Anderson, missing from Duluth, Ga., since Nov. 3, 2018.
A comprehensive list of missing black girls (there are nearly 75,000 missing across the country right now) can be found on the website for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
"All levels of governmental and law enforcement entities ― local, state and national – must be engaged to address disparities. Progressive social justice activism requires that this issue to be framed as America’s problem, not one relegated to the margins of the black community."
As stated in the article To Be Young, Missing, and Black.
Modern Racism by the Numbers
While black children constitute 18% of preschoolers nationwide, they make up nearly 50% of suspensions.
According to one study, white families hold 90% of the national wealth and black families hold 2.6%. For every $100 white families earn in income, black families earn just $57.30. (source)
Out of the ten richest Americans, 100% are white (seven of them are the richest in the world). (source)
The black unemployment rate has been consistently twice that of whites.
According to the data, blacks with college degrees are twice as likely to be unemployed as all other graduates.
This study found, job applicants with white-sounding names get called back about 50% more of the time than applicants with black-sounding names, even when they have identical resumes.
When all age groups are examined, black students are three times more likely to be suspended than white students, even when their infractions are similar.
When black people are convicted, they are about 20% more likely to be sentenced to jail time, and typically see sentences 20% longer than those for whites who were convicted of similar crimes.
Although blacks make up 13% of the population, they represent about 40% of the prison population.
In most states a felony conviction means you lose your right to vote. Right now in America, more than 7.4% of the adult black population is disenfranchised (compared to 1.8% of the non-black population).
Additionally, a recent study demonstrated that people of color are told about and shown fewer homes and apartments than whites. Black ownership is now at an all-time low (42%, compared to 72% for whites).
Statistics show that black drivers are about 30% more likely than whites to be pulled over by the police. They are also about three times as likely as white drivers to be searched after they were stopped.
More than half of all young black Americans know someone, including themselves, who has been harassed by the police.
Black people accounted for 31 percent of police killing victims in 2015, even though they made up just 13 percent of the US population. They are also statistically more often unarmed than their white counterparts.
This is a small excerpt of the black history of our time. This is what our complacency and silence in white privilege perpetuates. Will you be the one who looks it in the face and does something about it, or will you be the one who turns away?
I want us to sit with this reality. At the same time this history is being created, there are so many stories of black excellence. So many examples of formidable hope, strength and perseverance that deserves to be celebrated by each of us. In the coming weeks we will be highlighting this excellence. Black History Month will continue.
Accountability of the Week
Continue your individual work in the Me and White Supremacy Workbook. If you have finished the workbook in its entirety, please email me here so I can gauge our progress as a group. If you have yet to begin, today is the perfect day to start.
Weekly Media:
Watch or re-watch the eye opening, Oscar-nominated film, 13thabout the criminalization of black bodies and the United States prison boom.
Weekly Quote:
“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”
― Angela Davis
Weekly Reflection:
How would you identify with the stories above if it were happening to white people with names like Matt and Rachel and Emily? Would you internalize this human brutality differently?