By Eunice Faith Amante
For the past few weeks I have found it difficult to move through daily life when one of the countries I call home is in a state of emergency. I have tried writing and rewriting this blogpost trying to come up with the right words or make this somehow fit into the criteria, but I can only attempt to try.
Black Americans have been pushed to the brink after countless murders of Black people at the hands of the police. Protests have been organised in all 50 states to speak out against police brutality towards Black communities. Along with these protests has been coverage from the mainstream media and people posting their two cents on social media platforms. While there have been great action plans and educational links, I have seen one too many posts focusing on the riots and violence of protesters, and too little about the actual murders and provocation of the police prior to those incidents. Looting has taken place, buildings have been burnt but lives have been taken and violence has been instigated by those meant to “serve and protect.” People act surprised about the protests and the anger that many feel, as if this wasn’t a long time coming. People of colour but most especially Black people of colour (BPOC) have been brought to their boiling point. In every dimension of life they have been systematically oppressed. From the labor system where Black unemployment is almost at 17% to the criminal justice system where 1 out of every 3 Black men will be incarcerated in their lifetime (Saraiva & Boesler, 2020; The Sentencing Project, 2019). Policies over the last 400 years have been made to their demise. “Law enforcement” is an extension of the suffering BPOC experience. There is nothing broken about the system/s. They are functioning just as they were meant to. To protect and serve the ruling class.
I do not condone violence and destruction, but I cannot and will not tell a community who has been oppressed for over 400 years how to express their anger and grief. The article ‘In defense of looting’, Joshua Briond, Tamika D. Mallory and Trevor Noah explain it well. The thing is, I don’t think the current movement regarding George Floyd would have gained attention without the burning of Target, just as I don’t think people would have been outraged had they not seen the video capturing the violent murder of George Floyd. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
Oppressors tend to oversimplify the issues by placing blame and responsibility on the individual. The media stereotypes Black people as “lazy welfare recipients”, “thugs” and “criminals.” People often try to justify police brutality and mass incarceration of BPOC by talking about drug use and crime rates within Black communities. However, oppressors never look below the surface. They only look as deep and far as their agenda. They never ask WHY incarceration rates are higher for Black people or WHY there is a high poverty rate for BPOC. They fail to address structural barriers and historically systemic racism (NPR, 2018). Crime is a reaction to oppressive structural forces.
We’re so quick to call for ‘peace’ but what is the peace we’re actually calling for? Before we ask for peace we need to ask ourselves whether peace is deserved. Is it peace for those who have been oppressed or is it peace and quiet for our own false sense of comfort and security? Don’t ask for peace from groups who have been historically oppressed by the systems that uphold our societies, because you’re really just asking for silence and submission. Ask for peace from the policymakers and leaders who are in charge of systems that create and maintain oppression. Peace should be available to EVERYONE, but instead peace has been made a privilege.
As social workers it is our privilege and moral obligation to speak up against systems that oppress marginalized communities. It is our job as activists and advocates to fight for not only peace but also justice for ALL. While Aotearoa is not America, we must not forget that this country has also been built upon the oppression of indigenous Maori. There are too many mirror images between our systems for us to be complacent. Educate yourself, have uncomfortable conversations, and find ways to take action, do anything but be silent about racial injustice. Be brave enough to envision a world without structural colonialism and oppression.
References
Briond, J. (2020, June 6). Understanding the role of police towards abolitionism: On black death as an American necessity, abolition, non-violence, and whiteness. Hampton. https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/understanding-the-role-of-police-towards-abolitionism-on-black-death-as-an-american-necessity-abolition-non-violence-and-whiteness?fbclid=IwAR1b9B2xy0aip945mNsloi-9AE7PiqFTTrn6nF4QPOsRWvqdYSTFmmT5kzk
Demby, G. (2018). Video: Housing segregation in everything. NPR. https://www.wnyc.org/story/video-housing-segregation-in-everything/
Loopmaniac. (2020, May 31). Tamika Mallory – the most powerful speech of a generation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUvGeEQidT0&feature=youtu.be
Noah, T. (2020, May 29). George Floyd, Minneapolis protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper | the daily social distancing show [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c
Osterweil, V. (2014, August 21). In defense of looting. The New Inquiry. https://thenewinquiry.com/in-defense-of-looting/?fbclid=IwAR1_xtBHaBRMTk4tF2wB6kWXfp4HLAFT8jsYB48GgyfZcBJF9HjClNrp7II
Saraiva, C. & Boesler, M. (2020). Black unemployment rate rises while white joblessness falls. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-05/black-unemployment-rate-rises-while-white-joblessness-falls
The Sentencing Project. (2019). Criminal justice facts. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/
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