In the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of White Minneapolis policemen who felt entitled to take his Black life for no reason, stories have suddenly begun to emerge from the White population about steps taken to put a knee to the neck of their own racism.

  • A White woman in Myrtle Beach reported that, for the first time, she asked her Black repairman how things are going for him. He assumed the question was about CoVid. No, she said. “I’m asking about your experiences as a Black man in these times.” No White person has ever asked him about racial experiences. But she is asking. And he tells her. He doesn’t go out at night. He gets stopped at least 6 times a year by police, even when he is working, driving his well-marked repair van, wearing a uniform. He does not wear dark clothes, so as not to be mistaken for someone else. He has family members and neighbors who have been killed. There is no end to what he could tell her, but he leaves it there.

 

This is what I mean by “bring it home.” In order to disarm racism, each of us has to shine a light on the ways it has infested our own daily lives. The woman in Myrtle Beach did not think of herself as racist. And yet, she suddenly saw that by not talking about racism with a Black man she does business with, or with any other Black people she knows, she was perpetuating our collective White silence about racism.

  • A White high school teacher with sons of her own felt so much grief for the family and friends of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot by two White men in a pickup while out running on a Sunday afternoon, she announced her commitment to run 2.23 miles every day until there is justice for his death. The 2.23 is symbolic of the date Maud was shot. Every day as she runs, she remembers Maud, and shares the pain of his family in this way.

Each time this teacher explains to someone why she has vowed to run 2.23 miles a day, she is opening herself up to challenging conversations about racism. She is showing a courage to engage in the racial dialogue White people love to avoid. She has brought not just Arbery’s death into her home and her life, but into a wider circle of white students, friends, colleagues, and relatives who will be reminded of the killings that racism engenders.

  • A White woman sees a young black man walking down the opposite side of the street, rapping and singing. She sends a “Hello!” across the street, he says “Hello!” back, and soon she joins him across that divide, sings with him a little, and then asks how he is doing with all that has happened to Black people in the past few months.

Separation tightens our silence about how others are treated. The protest signs that say, “White silence is violence,” come from this perspective on racism. We all need to work on closing the distance that fear creates.

  • Videos of protests from the cumulative effect of Breonna’s, Ahmaud’s, and George’s deaths, show throngs of White people marching in support of the Black community. Where Black protesters have been threatened by police in riot gear, White protesters have formed a chain of protection around the Black protesters. When Black protesters have been cornered and blocked by police, they call out “White shield!” and the White protesters go to the front of the crowd, nearest the police, which seems to be the fastest way to get adrenaline-pumped, fully geared-up, predominantly White police forces to calm down instead of starting a riot themselves.

A human shield is a vivid demonstration of the effects of racism on our police forces. In one demonstration following George Floyd’s death, the large number of White people in the crowd formed a human chain to protect Black demonstrators from police in riot gear. In another, White people in the crowd surged to the front, facing the riot-geared police. In both instances, the police backed off.

Each of us has to own our part in White supremacy and in racism. Own it, and then bring it home. That is the only way we are going to disarm racism and the racists it has created.

If you have not already begun reading books that teach White people about racism, begin today. One important book is called White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo. Use it like a workbook in your daily life, to understand how each topic she discusses is part of you.

There are many important books to help us do the work we need to do. There are also podcasts and Ted talks and documentaries. Follow Black leaders and thinkers on Facebook. Pay attention to what they have to say.

You can bring it home by being a learner, delving into our national classroom on racism. You can be an ally, by joining protests, making phone calls, fighting for reforms in your own back yard. You can donate a portion of business profits to organizations that pay bail or legal defense funds for the overwhelming numbers of Black people who have been jailed without charges.

Begin somewhere. Here is one starting point: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/06/06/871023438/this-list-of-books-films-and-podcasts-about-racism-is-a-start-not-a-panacea

 

Right now, we all need to bring it home.