Say Their Names
Last week, I had a conversation with someone who was deeply upset because so many individuals and organizations were speaking up about racial injustice. They felt like the attention on anti-black racism was overshadowing their own experiences as a white person and their belief that racial harmony existed. They felt threatened because they believed the status quo was being disrupted. They said "It's only happening because of George Floyd." From my understanding, they are not alone in that sentiment.
I think it's important to point out that there is never a singular event that bends the moral arc of justice. It is the culmination of events. To say that these demands for racial justice are only happening because of George Floyd is to ignore the cruel death of Breonna Taylor. Of Ahmaud Arbery. Of Tamir Rice. Of Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, and thousands of others. For many people around the world, George Floyd was just the tipping point.
Just as a steam locomotive is propelled forward, not by a single piece of wood or lump of coal but rather the boiling point of its fuel reserves reaching critical mass, major movements in social change are driven by persistent voices who course their way through systems in order to change them and reach new destinations. And whether the passengers are aware of it or not, each effort to stoke that fire benefits them in taking them on that journey as well. When we reframe major social structures (education, employment, police reform, etc.) around the most marginalized instead of the most powerful, that engine of justice brings us all forward.
We are often ignorant of the forces at work that benefit us the most. Even those who are conscientiously working towards making the tide rise in order to lift all boats forget that the major constituent is not just the dam we build, but also the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. To fully appreciate and understand the moment that we are in is to see the vast events and efforts that connect us.
Justice, to paraphrase John Green’s depiction of falling in love, is like falling asleep: it happens slowly, then all at once. Helen Keller said, “The world is not moved only by the mighty shoves of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” While it might seem that social change is happening as a reaction to one event, that isn’t the case at all. The pressure has been building all along. And, unlike the process for falling asleep, waking up can happen in an instant. Those experiencing injustice have been sounding the alarm, crying desperately for humanity while many others are choosing the comfort of remaining ignorant and asleep. It is time to wake up. It is time to move the engine of progress forward.
In the end, I felt pity for the person that I spoke with. I understand that change is difficult - they are contending with new norms, new vocabulary, and a world that is shattering their false notion that issues of racism only plagued previous generations of a distant past. But anyone who truly examines the status quo - in this case, over 1,900 police killings of black people in less than six years (and with less than six officers convicted) - should not and cannot believe that this is an acceptable state to live in. Ignorance is not an excuse. I refuse to accept cynicism as be primary driving force of change in our world. Instead, we'll honor the victims of tragedy with compassion and justice. They shall not have died in vain. Sound the alarm. Say their names.
