America on the Brink

Chapter Eight Listening Is Not Enough

It has been two years since the tragic events that unfolded in 2020 and the wave of protests and violence that engulfed the nation. The deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd ushered in an intense summer I often describe as a “reckoning” for racial issues long ignored in this country. For months, people took to the streets to express moral outrage that black people could be murdered in broad daylight or under the cover of a “no-knock” warrant at night. Violence that many Americans thought was a product of the bygone era of Jim Crow segregation in the south was still very much a reality in 2020. The anger fueling protests around the country were expressions of moral outrage that life is not valued and protected. Thousands upon thousands took to the streets to lament what we have become as a nation and insist that we do better. To put finer point on it: they called out our capacity to tolerate injustice and we are a better nation for it. I hope in our haste to move on that we do not minimize the significance of those events and their bearing on our national life. In the wake of protests and this latest moment of reckoning, we saw glimpses of a better America. I want to use this op ed to name a good and a growing edge for those of us committed to the better America protestors called for two years ago. The path to a more racially-just America requires compassion to listen and empathize with African Americans and the courage to act, to do something specific to make a difference. People Listened and Acted A number of people in the white community stopped long enough to see the pain of their black sisters and brothers and decided to listen. We should not gloss over this because it was an expression of compassion. People listened and after listening to some hard things, some asked, “what can we do?” We have seen some good come from these things. White people with wealth made significant donations to nonprofits and historic black colleges and universities (HBCUs) working on the frontlines in Black communities. Major companies funded advertising campaigns that expressed solidarity and gave voice to black issues and black pain. Nonprofit organizations and educational institutions convened conferences and webinars to teach the public about the historic and systemic dimensions of racism in America. I have been a part of a host of these events that range from courses on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., webinars I give on “Five Things We Get Wrong about Racism,” and a 2021 op ed on the fight for the soul of America. Governmental officials were listening and tried to be responsive. Congress voted to approve the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act (S.475), the

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