Racial Injustice — How to “Tell” That Story Rather Than Just Sharing It
Like yourself, I’ve been seeing a lot of White and Non-Black POC navigating how to express, rally and show their support alongside the Black community. This out pour of outrage is more or less driven by the release of a graphic and controversial video of police officer, Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into the neck of African American male, George Floyd, resulting in his death minutes later.
Will Smith said it best, “Racism is not getting worse, it’s getting filmed”. The advancements made in technology and social media platforms have given every individual an accessible outlet to make a statement and have a voice. Smart phones are the first things people reach for to visually tell the story of racial oppression that African Americans are facing every single day. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner are being condemned on Twitter for not using their influence and platform to spread awareness about black oppression. Brands with a large social presence, such as Target, are either being shamed or praised for their statements, or lack there of, in light of recent protests and looting taking place in Minneapolis, MN. Will Smith has a point — the racial oppression of African Americans has been taking place behind closed curtains, the camera phone combined with 280 characters merely just shed light to a privileged audience.
However, many can argue that while platforms like Twitter and Instagram give individuals access to state what they want and express how they feel, freedom of expression is almost as dangerous as not having it at all. Just because you have something to say does not mean the subject matter can be deemed as impactful or informative. Now more than ever, the #1 question that flows through comment threads comes down to, “What’s your source?”, and while that’s important, it’s not the only question we should be asking. Instead, our intentions must shift to a more effective means of communication that drives conversations forward for the very police officers that find themselves in such predicaments.
Now before you push fingers to screen, ask yourself, “Is what you’re about to share going to help shift the perspective of the Derek Chauvins of the world or add fuel to an already bigoted mindset? If the latter, how can you adjust the narrative to accomplish an open dialogue of understanding?” Words take no meaning if you don’t spend time understanding the emotional intelligence and perspective of your followers, families, and friends who value your opinion. Just because you’ve done your research on how to donate to specific resources and/or educated yourself about racial injustices does not mean you’ve done your part.
Think about this — most of society, I’d like to think, believes that racism still exists today. Anyone with privilege can Google ways to help move the needle towards racial equality, however, it’s not so much equality we should be striving for so much as it should be equity we MUST achieve. This summary document from Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina does a great job defining the difference between equality and equity —
“Equality is typically defined as treating everyone the same and giving everyone access to the same opportunities. Meanwhile, equity refers to proportional representation (by race, class, gender, etc.) in those same opportunities.”
There are two spectacular, visual examples of how proportional representation given same opportunities is what we should strive for. This video experiment of kids racing to get a $100 bill so accurately depicts privilege as not so much a result of decisions you yourself have made, but how there is an inherent, distinguishable opportunity handicap in society. This comic created by Kris Straub of Chain Sawsuit is another representation of why equity is what we as individuals need to help fulfill.
Sure, it might make sense to say everyone deserves equal opportunity, but it’s absolutely critical to understand that not everyone starts with equal opportunity. Those who default to an “all lives matter” stance do not acknowledge this concept of equity. I source the above examples because of how effectively it educates a pivotal point of context for why African Americans are experiencing anger and frustration today.
Understanding your privilege starts with seeking out examples such as the above, but using your privilege to voice this perception is key. Music artist, Billie Eilish used her privilege, platform and perception to help further shift the perspective for the Derek Chauvins of the world and create an open dialogue of understanding.
In a society where most of us have easy access to freedom of speech, we’re all faced with the difficult decision to either default to reaction or to channel your frustration to open dialogue. Do more for justice in equity than just sharing that video. Understanding your audience is half the battle and if you’re able to accomplish that, those curtains will unfold into a whole different story.
