Truth commission deserves support

In this roiling moment, white Americans appear to be seeing — at long last — what Black and brown people have known for centuries. Systemic racism and pervasive discrimination coupled with police brutality make even basic survival challenging for non-white America.

Not only in liberal Marin County, but also in the conservative small towns such as DeKalb, Illinois, where I used to call home, white allies are protesting alongside Black leaders.

Now East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee is asking that we do more. Lee recently introduced a new resolution in the House of Representatives. She is asking that white people step up by contacting their congressional representatives to urge them to cosponsor the resolution.

It calls for the establishment of a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Commission in order to acknowledge the past history of America’s racial injustice and progress toward addressing persistent racial inequalities. This concurrent resolution affirms, on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slave ship, the U.S. debt of remembrance not only to those who lived through the injustices of slavery but also to their descendants. It also proposes the commission to properly acknowledge, memorialize and be a catalyst for progress, including toward permanently eliminating persistent racial inequities.

Lee is aiming to have 218 cosponsors. Marin residents can ensure our own Congressman Jared Huffman is among them by calling him at (415) 258-9657. We can also reach out to friends and family who live in other congressional districts and ask them to request that their representatives sign on to this important resolution.

After being in the streets, supporting Lee in her important initiative is a natural next step for those of us who benefit every day from white privilege.

— Jennifer Tomkins, Tiburon