Just over two weeks have passed since George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis, marking yet another case of police brutality in the United States, which disproportionally affects people of color and specifically Black people. We’ve known these devastating statistics because 2019 marked the fourth year in a row that police fatally shot an average of a thousand people. While the data is unfortunately consistent, the reaction to Floyd’s murder was not. Protests took place the next day and quickly grew beyond Minneapolis. The country and soon the world would be marching against police brutality and in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement within the same week. Important conversations were popping up all around me, as more folx (white folx!) wanted to discuss racism in the United States and better understand the systems in place. Sadly, Breonna Taylor – rest in peace – is in this same timeline. She was killed (murdered, in my opinion; case recently reopened) in her home by police on March 13th, nine days before NY went on lockdown. With over 400 police-involved shootings racked up in 2020, I know better than to suggest that the virus is to blame for the distraction when we’re conditioned to these heartbreaking cases. And yet, within a couple of months of her death, another headline resulted in a completely different reaction. Why? I found myself cautiously curious and motivated to poke around for the variables that granted us this opportunity for extreme changes. How could a country that is plagued with mass shootings, police brutality, systemic oppression, an opioid epidemic, a global pandemic, volatile politics, and an overzealous sense of “freedom” suddenly come together like this?
I cast my social nets and threw down some initial thoughts. This post will explore two of my favorite explanations in focused tracks before highlighting the rest of the results [read: I’m going to try and organize these thoughts as best as I can, as this is a tiny step into a raging river of variables]:
We have been in timeout.
Okay, so let me hash this out. I first arrived to this idea because I’ve lived a privileged life full of distractions, opportunities, and plenty of space to run around without being told “NO.” So here I am, conditioned to this dynamic, when the loud record screech and brutal impact of a pandemic smack me upside the head. “You will stop going to work, you will stay home, you will lose focus on your existing agendas, you will not see your friends, you will feel unproductive, and you will fixate on data that attempts to monitor whatever the hell is happening right now” was the name of the “game” I was about to play. And I played it! Hell, even this blog is riddled with valiant attempts of capturing my mind in the first month (simultaneously reinforcing how awful I am at journaling), as the virus was taking off in NY and beyond. I was fixated and anything unrelated to COVID-19 started to fade from my mind. Stack a few weeks and eventually months onto this state of mind and I noticed a rather focused version of myself. That’s when the details of COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on people of color started to hit the news. Like analyzing bias in tech, I shifted from flat numbers and statistics to a more holistic view of systems and social norms that further complicate the conditions alongside the virus. And it wasn’t just me! Existing research and articles about racial bias impacts on the healthcare industry started to resurface (and new ones) as did discussions that linked the virus to an upcoming housing crisis while noting the harsher effect on POC. Not to mention the ongoing digital divide, which made work and school a challenge for communities that aren’t yet wired for internet access. The melting pot of situations amplified by the pandemic continued to highlight the reality of racial inequity in the US. And we were all home with little to do but stare at it.
Then George Floyd was murdered. Everything shifted.
It’s the timeout, right!? What else is going on here? Another thought:
We witnessed rapid, global change.
Okay, so we’ve considered the “timeout” explanation. Let’s look at this again in another direction. I’m fortunate to have some brilliant pals so I was eager to hear what they had in mind. The response from Kate O’Neill, author of Tech Humanist and an overall fantastic human, flipped my head around:
My pet theory is related [to a timeout], but more focused on how the massive disruption to everything — from normal work to normal services like going to a doctor — allows more people to visualize a world where things could actually be different. Because they already are different in ways few of us would have ever imagined.
As if I needed my career crush to be stronger ::waves at the wonderful Kate::.
Her theory lit me up and gave an explanation for the suddenly-creative state of my mind. I immediately thought of the point of the pandemic at which I heard, “Stop saying ‘things will go back to normal’ because there’s no going back from this.” Some scoffed at the notion, but I, the NYer mere hours from the epicenter of the outbreak, quietly nodded and accepted the concept. Plus, we were all knee-deep in a WFH transition that demonstrated how fast our worlds were pivoting. Let’s consider these micro levels of major change for a moment because, yes, I dug into that, too:
I went back to check my company emails from early March and how we were instructed to ramp up for the potential remote reality. I didn’t know then that I’d soon see my 16K-employee company shift to 95% remote within a few days. The same company that was described as “a cruise ship that takes a while to turn” had stopped on a dime. I was (and honestly still am) bewildered by this accomplishment. I didn’t think we had it in us. I know there was plenty of planning going on behind the scenes, but I still found myself smirking and thinking, “I knew it! I knew change could be fast here.” All my imaginative thoughts for the company were coming to life before I could absorb what was happening. Back to Kate’s point, I could now shift my focus to the “what’s next” exploration since the foundational change already took place. As destructive as the pandemic is and continues to be (I think we have major challenges ahead), I won’t deny how curious and inspired I felt to shape and mold our new reality. What else can we change? How else can we reimagine our world?
Then George Floyd was murdered. Everything shifted.
Just like that, my focus snapped back to macro-level issues: racism, systematic oppression, our long history of police brutality, and how police forces came into existence in the first place. How can we change that system? I thought of one of my favorite podcast episodes featuring Mariame Kaba and her vision of ridding the world of prisons through restorative justice:
Abolishing the prison system, a topic that once got an incredulous reaction from me, was no longer farfetched. I want to note that my lack of confidence in the idea was not because I have faith in the system as is. No, I’m aware of the endless research and data that poke enormous holes in our existing standards of criminal justice. My familiarity with and personal conditioning within the US culture is what kept me from fully embracing the idea. At least until the pandemic. Being inundated with rapid, global change allowed me to let go of the preconceived notion of the rules. I could bend and flex concepts in my head to see them from new angles and even imagine a world without the concepts all together. Focusing this exercise on the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s murder put new options on the table. And people started to run with them the following night with many more people (then states and countries) to follow.
Did we find the winning combination? A societal timeout mixed with a rug being ripped from under our feet? Perhaps, but here are a few more angles:
- More folx (particularly white folx!) are tuned into discussions of racism and #BLM now because COVID-19 affects everyone. Being forced to live in a manner against our wishes (isolation, wearing masks, cancel trips, etc.) was a taste of how life can be for those that are not the default in our culture and country. Recognizing that non-white Americans live in these conditions every single day formed a bridge to increased awareness and, in some cases, a willingness to help.
- The sudden shift in attitude is due, in part, to the pattern of exponential change across states that follow one, groundbreaking event.
- Ongoing conversations with Kim Crayton will point to the fact that “white supremacy is a parasite that’s eating its host” and white folx are now finally feeling the pain of our own systems. This includes criminal justice and all the ways in which we establish laws in our country (spoiler: they usually focus on white people).
- One of my favorite reasons: THE INTERNET. The world isn’t so much changing as it’s being captured and shared in realtime. We are seeing daily injustices that would have otherwise gone unnoticed in a tech-free world. More folx are witnessing the dark realities and cannot ignore them as easily.
- Oh, and this piece from NYTimes that’s hot off the press (and undeniably a catalyst to me finally getting my thoughts out on this front).
Okay, so ::takes a moment to add up all the angles:: there are many reasons why people are suddenly tuned in. Here’s a secret: I don’t really care why they’re tuned in because I’m just happy they are listening and ready to take action. We can do a lot of great work in this time together. Inevitably, the attention spans will fizzle and life will distract those of us that aren’t used to social justice work. But for now? Let’s seize the moment:
First, sign up for Kim Crayton’s “Introduction to Being Antiracist” online event coming up on June 27th. We can’t create change if we don’t understand the systems in play right now so take the time to educate yourself. As she has said to me numerous times, “You can’t write a novel before learning the alphabet.” Walk before you run.
Next, see what you can do in your local community. Whether you’re donating time, money, or energy, you have an opportunity to leverage your privilege and make change right now. This can be as simple as acknowledging the state of the world in spaces that are otherwise quiet e.g. the workplace. Or you can find your local protests and join in with a sign. A quick Google search can help you learn about the Black-owned, Black-founded, and Black-focused organizations around you. Support and amplify them. Listen to your local community and offer your resources. Research the politicians impacting policy in your backyard. Remember, making your position known can act as a beacon to others in your life that maybe need that nudge or visual cue to step up. Be that beacon! Set the new standard!
Finally, remember that pushing the needle is part of our duty as humans. I firmly believe that we all have the potential to disrupt the status quo. Lean on the lessons from these past few months, regardless of which one speaks to you most, and fuel yourself for the goal of living in a more equitable society. We can get there if we work together. Thank you for being part of the journey. P.S. Toss me your own take, if you have one that’s not highlighted here! I’ve enjoyed this activity.
Onward.
#BlackLivesMatter
