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I honestly can& #39;t even come close to comprehending what it& #39;s like to be black in America.
I grew up in a small Rust Belt town where almost 45% of households in my neighborhood were below the poverty line, and unemployment was at 20% even before the pandemic.
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I grew up in a small Rust Belt town where almost 45% of households in my neighborhood were below the poverty line, and unemployment was at 20% even before the pandemic.
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Roughly 1% of the people in my neighborhood had a bachelor& #39;s degree education, while close to 60% had a high school degree or less - my parents included.
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Even with those factors, though, I& #39;m still white. My neighborhood was largely POC, mostly African American and Latinx. The income inequality and joblessness didn& #39;t hit my home quite the same way it did many of my neighbors and friends.
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After college, I worked as a newspaper reporter. The first beat that I covered was cops and courts. I saw how often policing disproportionately targeted POC. I remember talking to friends who would have squad cars roll up on them just because they were out for a walk.
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Meanwhile, other friends - white friends - would get let off with a warning even if they were doing something truly reckless. One friend was told to "just head on home" after being pulled over while doing more than 100 MPH on a residential street.
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I heard first-hand stories of how the policing had ruined people& #39;s lives. Sat with friends at the Juneteenth party who were missing family members because they& #39;d been locked up over minor infractions. It& #39;s a fucked up situation.
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This is all to say that I don& #39;t know exactly what I can do to help, but I want to be a good ally. Not just now when things look particularly bad, but always.
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Racism is disgusting. Racist systems are abhorrent. We need to do better, both individually and as a collective nation. If I see racism, I will call it out. I want a fair and equitable system for everyone, and that means recognizing my privilege and using it to help.
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