Is our society finally at a watershed moment?

Our society has a short attention span. Over the past couple of weeks, in the wake of the horrific killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, racial injustice has been in the news cycle.

But this is hardly the first time a white police officer has, for no legitimate reason, used deadly force against a Black man. This is also hardly the first time that citizens have responded by calling for change.

Are we finally at a watershed moment, a tipping point? Will the pain and indignation and anger and soul-searching and calls for justice yield any tangible results? Or, before long, will activism once again be left to the activists, while others go back to their daily lives?

Certainly, the impact of this shocking crime feels unprecedented, even if the crime itself does not. That it was captured on video left no room for doubt or denial. People around the world took to the streets to protest, mostly peacefully, including in Montreal. This is because there is recognition that racism is not a uniquely American problem, and that we too have a great deal to answer for, including in the present.

There is also increasing recognition of the pernicious, systemic nature of racial discrimination in our society, even if our premier is regrettably loath to say “systemic.” The evidence is incontrovertible. It is seen in studies about job applications and police stops in Montreal, and in the Viens Commission report on

Will the pain and indignation and anger and soul-searching and calls for justice yield any tangible results?

the situation of Indigenous people in Quebec. Employment statistics offer further proof.

These inequities continue despite the considerable progress made in recent decades in terms of personal attitudes, especially conscious ones.

The pressing question is: Now, what are we all going to do about it?

The killing has first and foremost put a spotlight on our police forces and their interactions with racialized citizens. For decades in Montreal, there have been efforts to make our police more representative of the community they serve; continuing reports of incidents of racism; studies and more studies. The efforts have not been futile; for example, it is no longer unusual to see a Black police officer.

However, the fact that pervasive problems remain suggests new approaches are needed. Should we “defund the police,” as some activists are advocating? To some, that implies abolishing police forces entirely; that hardly seems practical. To others, it simply means diverting some police funding to other bodies that might be able to get to the root of social problems that can lead to crime, or even send intervention workers to deal with certain types of incidents. There is certainly wisdom in that.

But whatever approach is taken, what must change is a situation that leaves many citizens feeling that the police force is not theirs.

There have also been renewed calls for police to be equipped with body cameras, and Mayor Valérie Plante now seems open to the idea. This newspaper has supported those calls in the past and we continue to do so.

But systemic racism isn’t only about the police; it extends much more broadly than that.

Truly addressing it will require concerted attention and action by all of us, not just by those of us who are racialized and/or activists. And this, on an ongoing basis, once the news cycle has moved on.