Silence is not an option

By LIZ GAREY I magine your block, with homes on both sides of the street. One house is on fire. The fire department comes to put the fire out because that home, and the adjacent homes, are in serious danger.

Now imagine when someone says, “Black Lives Matter” and your initial response is, “don’t all lives matter?” Yes, of course they do. But right now, all lives are not in the same jeopardy as the people who are being assaulted and killed routinely by police use of force. That’s what Black Lives Matter means and that’s why this movement is so urgent right now.

George Floyd’s death, captured on a cellphone camera, has become the latest example of police brutality that black people, especially black men, face every day in this country.

This cannot continue.

White people, who think of themselves as “nice” and certainly not “racist” can no longer deny or ignore when black men, women, and even children lose their lives in senselessly violent encounters with law enforcement.

Why is this permitted in our country?

The sad answer is racism – institutional and systemic racism.

We need to understand the root causes of this stain on our society. And we need to change the government, corporate and social structures in this country which tolerate racism that is systematic (that is, by their actions and procedures) as well as systemic (that is, built into the very make-up of these institutions and organizations).

When people are protesting in the streets across the country and around the world, demanding that this treatment and these practices must end, we must wake up, our systems must respond.

There’s no small irony in the midst of this viral pandemic, that a viral video grabbed our attention. It was not the first of its kind. But its duration, 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the plaintive cry from the victim for his mother, and the expression of the police officer who had his knee on Floyd’s neck are what enraged a quarantine-weary and saddened nation.

People poured into the streets and have been protesting, even rioting, ever since. Yes, small accommodations have occurred: the charge of murder went from third degree to second for the offending officer. The other three bystander police officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.

But this is not enough. We must become allies, not enemies.

While police departments must look within, commit to increase diversity, implement more effective de-escalation techniques, and institute non-discrimination policies, we must change, too.

We need to educate ourselves about institutional racism, its history, impact, and implications. We need to acknowledge our own implicit biases. We need to speak out whenever and wherever we experience racist comments or actions. We need to listen to our black brothers and sisters. And we need to support anti-racist actions at all levels of society.

Here in Berrien County, a number of us have been meeting in living rooms for several years to unpack the burden of racism on our black friends, neighbors and fellow citizens. Our program is called Brave Talks because silence is NOT an option. It involves groups of 10-12 black and white people who gather regularly to talk and get to know each other better, to discuss their biases and assumptions, and to identify concrete actions we can take to make things better.

Brave Talks is an offshoot of Community Grand Rounds, a Spectrum Health Lakeland speaker series launched in July 2018 and designed to “heal the trauma of racism.”

These talks and the speaker series are just the beginning. It’s time we transformed our practices at every level: employers need to do better, schools need to do more, and governments need to adopt policies and pass legislation that prevents race-based discrimination. At an individual level we need to give everyone the respect and the dignity they deserve. We need to recognize the intrinsic value of every human being. White people – even “nice” white people – can no longer remain silent on racism and its impact.

No one questions calling the fire department to protect lives and property. The hatefulness of racism continues to burn in our country and it’s up to each of us to help put out the fire.

Liz Garey of St. Joseph is a former speech pathologist and political campaign director. She is a wife, mother and grandmother who is committed to making her community strong through volunteering for local organizations such as Brave Talk. For more information, contact CGR@lakelandhealth.org.