“It’s a shame that we have to go to their graveyard and bury them. And we have tears. We shouldn’t have tears. We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side,” is what Zianna Oliphant said at a City Council meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina shortly after the police shooting of Keith Scott. Her statements wracked my home state of North Carolina and further intensified the urgency to acknowledge racial division within America.
These are tumultuous times. The United States of America was founded, established, fertilized and able to prosper because of slavery. This, admittedly or not, has permeated American culture with an inherent racial bias. Slavery was abolished just over 150 years ago, segregation a mere 52 years ago. Many like to believe that was the end of it–and for the past several decades the illusion that racism no longer existed simply because a bill was signed into law has sufficed for the American people. Not anymore.
The increase of body cams and accessibility via social media has cast a glaring eye on police actions. Keith Scott, Eric Garner, and Terence Crutcher’s death were all captured on footage that was then released to the public. Beyond that, citizens’ utilization of social media has literally captured death on tape: Philando Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, filmed his death on a Facebook Live feed. But does this newfound vision force the officers to be culpable for his or her actions? Often the answer is no. Punitive actions within law enforcement are few and far between, much to the devastation of Americans everywhere.
This comes down to more than a racial divide (though race holds strong convictions)–it’s about the reemergence of hierarchal power, gun violence, socioeconomics. The issue is not just black and white. American culture prides itself on strength, freedom, and nationalism. Combine that with the tenacity of second amendment rights and the position of power when it comes to law enforcement and there is a potential for something wholly unrighteous. An anomaly for sure, but a significant risk which should not be there in the first place.
At the moment the future of this issue is bleak, the resolution a quixotic dream. No one knows exactly what to do. Contempt has divided our country. Protests are disenfranchised by violence, politicians would rather turn a blind eye. Many argue that the system is broken, others say the system simply isn’t strong enough– some simply don’t believe there is a problem. Those are the individuals who need to be targeted, targeted with education, empathy and patience. It will take all of us being open and filled with respect and wanting to understand to be able to change the course of the racial divide within America.
Dismissing the differences in race is what has cracked the foundation of American culture. There are unparalleled horrors that have been inflicted on black america which must be recognized so that they will never happen again. A dismissal of the past will only tear the divide further. Differences in culture should be celebrated, not stifled. As a white woman I will never know the fear of being targeted for the color of my skin and I acknowledge that completely. I will never be able to understand but I will sympathize. We must establish a basic human respect for each other if we are ever to move forward and take steps towards eliminating institutionalized racism.