How do we combat (systemic) racism? Does racism still exist?

This topic has prevailed after the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. My guess is that we will continue to be confronted with such questions as we continue to see evidence of yet another Black human being killed unnecessarily when there is hardly or no evidence of a violent crime initiated by that person.  People have asked me for my personal opinions about it and I have stated them either verbally or over social media.  This post will express more of my opinions and how I've been handling the issue.  Hopefully it can contribute to the diverse perspectives that exist throughout the media and social media. I hope it also brings to light how it still exists especially among the Black communities and explores ways we can minimize and one day end racism.

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To give a little bit of background on how my views were shaped on this subject, it started in the 1980s after I learned in elementary school about how the Martin Luther King era brought racism to light via peaceful protests and how he helped the movement on getting African Americans to vote.  Through time, I lived life thinking that we as a society had eradicated racism and that if it did exist, it was just a small percentage of older people whose minds could never change.  Little did I think we had people in positions of power such as our police force who would still have such a strong prejudice!  It turns out I've been blindly believing that racism was an issue of the past.  To me, nothing justifies killing people who are clearly unarmed yet the reports that have been made known are one too many.

While I am aware that there are Black Americans who do not believe there is any systemic racism, I can respectfully disagree based on what I know from observations and evaluations of documentation on past and recent happenstances coupled with other resources.

The resources I hold in high regard which helped me understand the injustices of racism (found on the Clever Girl Finance website--whom I've been supporting for a few years now) are listed below:

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1. Shows, documentaries, and movies to get informed about the impact of racism and racial injustice:

- 13th (Netflix)

- If Beale Street Could Talk

- Just Mercy (Movie & Book) by Bryan Stevenson

- The Hate You Give

- American Son (Netflix)

- Dear White People (Netflix)

2. Books on racism:

- How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

- Locking up Our Own by James Forman

- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

- Between the World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

- The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

- Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria - Beverly Daniel Tatum

3. Organizations to support and donate to:

- Blacklivesmatter.com (Black Likes Matter)

- blackvisionmn.org (Black Visions Collective)

- minnesotafreedomfund.org (Minnesota Freedom Fund)

- gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd (George Floyd Memorial Fund)

- cuapb.org(Communities United Against Police Brutality)

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I've seen & heard enough to feel a need to send this message out to people -- that we don't have to just "get used to it" or have the mentality of "this too shall pass." The rude awakening up until now has certainly taken its toll to the people directly involved and to people like me who try to make a difference but seem to not be able to make a "dent." However posting here was one way I could at least conclude that yes racism and systemic racism still exists. It's comforting to know that there a few people I've spoken to who are taking action to get people in positions of power more accountable for their actions.

 

In my opinion though, to combat (systemic) racism, I think we would need more people in positions of power to want justice bad enough for human beings like: Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Daniel Prude, and countless others who happen to be Black and died at the "hands" of police officers. If the desire for justice is missing or simply does not exist in our government, I'm not sure when these kind of tragic stories will end.

 

Of course I'm always open to feedback and I'll leave these questions to those who may disagree with my line of thinking:

 

If (systemic) racism doesn't exist, how do you explain the Black lives that were not spared when they were clearly not displaying violent actions?

 

How would you feel if your own child or family member was killed in the same manner as the Black lives we have witnessed thus far?