It’s all over the news. Another black man was murdered. Two white men chased and shot Ahmaud Arbery in broad daylight and they sat peacefully in their home for months, without remorse or conviction for what they had done. Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting comes as no surprise to me but I, like many black and brown people across the nation, am grieving.
Amidst COVID-19, black and brown families are suffering – from physical health problems, hunger, distress, and many ailments brought by a long history of inequalities. However, Ahmaud’s shooting hit me hard. I often would try to stay fit by jogging outside my neighborhood. How do I know I won’t be shot like Ahmaud? My brother, a tall skinny runner who recently took up jogging outside, could have been a younger Ahmaud, a Trayvon Martin or Tamir Rice. The black community has no time to grieve. The black community must deal with the current pandemic AND the threat of white nationalism and violence. We are being hunted at the mercy of others, machismo wrapped in the enjoyment of killing prey and the prey happened to be an innocent man jogging. Words cannot describe the feelings surrounding his death. I am concerned but more so angry at those who turn their cheek to injustices. I am concerned that non-black communities are turning a blind eye to murder, with the same lack of remorse and convictions as the killers.
We live in a day and age where social justice is popular, acknowledging the strife of vulnerable communities is popular, and passively advocating for black and brown communities is popular as well. One post for non-black communities “should” be enough to show support. However, those who post are returning to their everyday lives and environments where black lives do not matter. They don’t have to matter and if they do, they are inconvenient and burdensome. The question is how are non-black and brown communities changing the discourse about black men and women in their own communities? What are they doing to curb negative views of black and brown people? How do they truly see us on a day to day basis? As we can see, perceptions are stronger than reality and black folk are perceived as dangerous.
The lives of individuals in power take precedent over ours. Even more so, is the view that racism only happens in the South and the South is to blame for these incidents. Don’t get me wrong. The South has had a long and complicated history with racism. However, I do not believe that racist acts and murders only happen in the South. If anything, Ahmaud’s murderers possess a white identity that is reflective of white people across the nation. That blacks do not belong, are dangerous, and they are beneath that of white folks. No matter their athletic ability and likeability, we are still animals, and nothing will change that.
Similar Read: Justice for Ahmaud?
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Perception is certainly reality. We hear that “voting” is the main solution to fixing or addressing these type of incidents. Do you think voting is the answer?
Voting is definitely necessary but we voted in a black president in 2008, and black men were still shot and killed during his presidency. This is a larger issue of systemic racism and white identity/nationalism at play. Incidents that get national attention tend to be the most gruesome but it’s truly a problem in white and non-black communities as well. Like you said, it’s a perception of how white people see black people, and then how they try to police us in spaces that they don’t think we belong in. It is not attitudes which can spark action. Long story short, if we want to change or “fix” these problems it’s going to take white and non-black people being active in the discussion and checking their own attitudes against black people. Only then can we start to see some progress.
I appreciate your article. Dealing with this pandemic, especially for POC knowing the healthcare disparities that exist is one thing, combined with racism… it’s just too much.
I agree and we need to take care of ourselves. Apparently, we can be killed by a virus and for just existing.
Institutional racism is engrained into our society, but nonetheless we still have work on solutions towards equality… before, during, and after pandemics.
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