Letters: We Must Do Better
Submitted by Ryan and Shanice Lowe
As a husband to a black woman, and soon to be father to a black son, the events of these last weeks, and even long before the Floyd murder, have been scary to watch. It is terrifying to consider how it will impact my family’s lives in the years ahead.
We are witnessing a boiling point in this country, a demand for action and a proclamation that how we have “addressed” issues such as these in the past are no longer acceptable. We all must come together to do better. It must happen, and happen NOW.
Take away the distractions the media parades in front of us of riots and looting, and focus on the simple truth that if you are not white in this country, you are not able to live without fear. That must change.
We can start with ourselves and our inner circles. Speak up when you see comments or jokes that are not right. Speak up when you witness deflection. Speak up when you see the spread of misinformation on social media. The challenge we must overcome is in every community, every business, every set of friendships, and by calling it out when it happens we can all do better together.
Beyond racism lies many other challenges we must work to solve in the time ahead. Access to opportunity and education to help lower income communities, especially the youth, so that all have a path to prosperity. Equal opportunity to turn these skills into promising careers in the industries that will define the future of our world in the years to come.
It’s very easy to watch the media, the violence, the crime, and to get angry. To pick a side. To assign blame. This is what further drives the divide in our country, and we need to look above it.
Instead, I ask each of us to channel our emotions, our brainpower, our frustration, and come together as one country, one group of citizens to identify, acknowledge, and correct the racial injustices that have lurked in our society long before the recent upheaval. The beautiful thing about technology is that it makes all of this ugliness visible. We have all seen it, how can we not? And therefore in our hearts we know what must be done to correct it.
Respect your fellow men and women. Defend one another against views of hatred or prejudice, no matter how innocent the intentions. Progress these ideas constantly, keep them relevant in your mind and actions. We are all one, we are all in this together, and we all need to do better to protect our friends and families of color, and all minorities, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy the liberties and freedoms of this great nation and to do so without fear.
Suggested Reading
- So You Want to Talk About Race by @ijeomaoluo
- How To Be An Antiracist by @ibramxk
- Me and White Supremacy by @laylafsaad
- 13th on Netflix by @ava
- American Son on Netflix
- The 1619 Project via @nytmag
- @ColorOfChange
