By Kayla Hoang & Karen Phan
We live in a country where racism perverts all levels of society and law. We live in a country where African American voices have repeatedly been silenced. We live in a country where the color of a person’s skin makes them a permanent target of hate, discrimination and injustice.
It is a fact that the Black community has faced the brunt of white supremacy and racism for centuries in the United States, from slavery to Jim Crow laws to housing segregation. These abuses have, for too long, occurred in contradiction of this nation’s founding ideals of justice, liberty and equality.
But, in the midst of increasing societal, cultural and political tensions and turbulence, people are once again demanding change. It’s time we listen to them and work together to ensure that this country’s ideals hold true for all its citizens.
Today’s movements, however, will not be sustained unless everyone plays their part. Baron Banner stands with all victims of injustice, brutality and discrimination, and supports the Black Lives Matter movement.
By now, everyone knows the name of George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered by former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin after allegedly buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Over eight minutes, as Chauvin’s knee dug into his neck, Floyd said again and again that he could not breathe.
We should not know Floyd’s name. Neither should we know the names of Ahmaud Arbery or Breonna Taylor, two other Black Americans who lost their lives to racism. They should be known only to their friends and family. They should be alive, but they are dead due to the systemic racism that enables police brutality against African Americans.
Floyd, Arbery and Taylor are only three of countless victims of the violence and bigotry that have persisted throughout U.S. history. Hundreds of years of systemic racism in our country still rear their ugly head today; especially in our criminal justice system, where American ideals of justice, equality, freedom and democracy still don’t fully extend to African Americans.
The African Americans who have died unnecessarily at the hands of law enforcement are Americans who deserve to not be scared to live because of the color of their skin. They had family and friends, lives to live to the fullest. They and their ancestors have helped build this country just as much as anyone else.
Years of protesting injustices and calling for a change in this racist country have been met time and time again with either silence or lip service and inaction from politicians, as well as police officers getting a light slap on the wrist for their misuse of authority and nothing more. The deaths of Black people due to a corrupt police force and a justice system that are intent on silencing their struggles cannot go unanswered.
Silence is complicity with the injustices plaguing our country. We as a publication recognize the responsibility we have to report the events that affect our community, to amplify voices that need to be heard and to hold people accountable for their actions.
That work is never easy, but part of the work of journalism is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” as journalist Finely Peter Dunne once wrote. That guiding principle drives us to not be silent when faced with injustices.
That adage carries more weight than ever as we navigate these turbulent times. Baron Banner’s allyship with the Black community is reporting on injustices on and off our campus. No matter how difficult a story is, we will not let bigotry slip through the cracks with impunity.
We urge our non-Black readers to use their voices and strengthen their solidarity with the Black community as well. Together we are stronger.
The first thing you might think to do, or have already done, is post something on your Instagram story. That is performative activism that lasts a mere 24 hours. While it does spread awareness, take it a step further. Take action.
Educate yourself and those around you. Address the privilege you have as a non-Black person. Call out your peers for using the n-word and other racial slurs. Donate, sign petitions, call and email officials, attend protests. Engage with leaders of your cities by voting to ensure inappropriate policing tactics are abolished to protect the lives of every member of your community.
Do your part in the fight against systemic racism, police brutality and the pattern of prejudice in our criminal justice system. Fight alongside the Black community to eradicate racism—we cannot accept it as part of America any longer.
Start here:
https://blacklivesmatter.com/: the official Black Lives Matter website
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/: where you can sign petitions, donate, educate, protest and more
http://bit.ly/BlackLivesAction: where you can sign petitions, donate, educate, protest and more
bit.ly/2XrnTFB: a list of Black-owned businesses in Orange County that you can support
https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory: where you can donate to bail funds
https://colorofchange.org/: where you can participate in campaigns against injustice
https://youtu.be/bCgLa25fDHM: where you can donate without money
https://lettersforblacklives.com/: a letter to adult family members on anti-Blackness, translated in multiple languages
http://useofforceproject.org/: learn about police department force policies
https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote: where you can register to vote, or text “VOTER” to 26797
https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/: where you can join a movement to overcome systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation and the war economy
This article was updated on June 23, 3:43 p.m. to capitalize the B in “Black.”
