Amid turmoil, opportunities for great change rise
It seems like recent protests have ushered in exciting opportunities for change. Here are a few:
Gay rights are civil rights are human rights: With the commemoration of Gay Pride month, I was stunned and angered that the Trump administration dropped yet another mean-spirited bombshell on the trans community — one that would impact a basic necessity — the quality of their health care. But the trans community and members of the gay community continued to assert their humanity, marching recently in solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement protesters.
Congratulations to the LGBTQ community on the recent ruling that people cannot be fired for being gay or transgender — a huge victory. But it bugs the hell out of me that pundits are heaping praise on the conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch. The real heroes are the besieged and battered black community, without their blood, sweat and tears as part of the civil rights movement, and the leadership of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there would be no Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Trumping Trump’s Tulsa timing: There’s something chilling about the president’s choice to hold a rally in the shadow of one of the most horrific acts of violence and destruction in the history of black America — the Greenwood Massacre of 1921. A lawless white mob, joined by the police, destroyed what was known as the Black Wall Street. What was once a thriving, prosperous community was annihilated, its residents murdered and dropped in unmarked graves. If there was ever any doubt as to the need for reparations, one has only to look at Greenwood. Trump’s decision to delay his rally from June 19 to June 20 as a “tip of the hat” to the celebration of Juneteenth, which marks the final emancipation of the slaves, doesn’t change anything.
While Trump is trying to figure out how to relate to black America from his “law and order” bully pulpit, Boston is rolling up its sleeves and getting to work, with actions that could be models for the nation, among them:
Addressing racism as a public health issue: Hooray to City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo for getting that ball rolling and for Mayor Marty Walsh for not only embracing the concept, but for keeping it in play by pivoting $12M from the police overtime budget to the marvelous Marty Martinez, head of the Boston Public Health Commission, whose work in this pandemic has been extraordinary. The coronavirus, particularly devastating for communities of color, isn’t going away any time soon, and racism will also not be easy to eradicate, but this is a solid start.
Enhancing and expanding community policing: The Boston “miracle” has been shared with a number of cities across the nation that have replicated and adapted Boston’s success. When other cities exploded after the deaths of Ferguson’s Michael Brown and other black men at the hands of the police, Boston did not. I am not saying the community policing model is a panacea — it needs an overhaul — but it has “good bones.” Most importantly, it was developed by the black community, in particular the black clergy, among them Revs. Eugene Rivers, Ray Hammond, Bruce Wall, Wesley Roberts, Miniard Culpepper, the late Michael Haynes and Minister Don Muhammad, among others.
Removing hateful and hurtful statues: Thank you to Tory Bollock for gathering 6,000 signatures to remove the cringeworthy statue of Abraham Lincoln in Park Square. As an African American kid, Bullock remembers how diminished he felt when he first saw the statue. Many of us still do. The much-revered Lincoln comes across more as a plantation “massa,” and it renders the half-naked emancipated slave as frankly inhuman. Time to go.
And while we’re at it, it’s time to bury the headless statue of Christopher Columbus. Columbus “discovered” America all right, but he also slaughtered the indigenous community he found here. Time to go.