We all need to actively participate in stopping racism
At the start of the pandemic two years ago my daughter had a school assignment to share three wishes with her classmates. The wish could be anything she wanted in the “whole wide world,” as she described it
Her first one: “I wish racism would go away.”
I’ll never forget how I felt reading the list. I’ve probably read it a hundred times since that day.
She was only 7 years old for goodness sake and this was her first wish?
Thankfully the third wish was her desire to have wild pandas. Otherwise I might have been concerned that her childhood and innocence had been snatched too soon by the harshness of the world.
Racism.
Just saying or reading the word can provoke emotions.
For some, the feeling might be intense.
For others, there may be an indifference or avoidance.
It could be a word that triggers trepidation, fear or immediate resistance.
At its worst it could elicit hate, or even violence.
Perhaps it stirs up a sense of activism. Maybe even hope. Hope for change in our communities and in the world.
It’s a heavy word filled with rage, often surrounded by intolerance.
When I hear the word, I’m reminded of my own encounters with racism, subtle and blatant.
Racism.
The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald have recently joined a growing list of community partners, businesses and organizations across MiamiDade in support of the YWCA of South Florida’s Stand Against Racism Challenge. The community awareness challenge, which begins Monday, April 4, is part of a national 21-day campaign and movement to end racial inequities. YWCA leaders say it is “not about changing beliefs but rather learning together ways to change systems that leave groups of people behind.”
The mission states that “the YWCA firmly believes that South Florida can be the most informed and equitable community. Together, we can find common ground to intentionally create spaces and opportunities for learning, connection and understanding that can advance real change.”
Racism
You might ask, do we really need a campaign to convince us to focus on
ways to end racial inequities?
When a 7-year-old’s first wish is for racism to go away, I’d argue this campaign and others like it are very necessary and the effort should never end.
Last week, I was among a small group of community leaders invited to join former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr., chair of The Children’s Movement of Florida, for a Q&A with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League.
Greenblatt says he has “made it his personal mission to demonstrate how antisemitism, racism and other insidious forms of intolerance can destroy a society, taking root as quiet prejudices but mutating over time into horrific acts of brutality.”
In his latest book, “It Could Happen Here: Why America is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable
– and How We Can Stop it,” Greenblatt encourages us to talk about hate. He challenges us to understand the sense of bias and injustice. And, he urges us to be active participants in change, rather than sit back and complain.
It’s been said that racism is the greatest threat to democracy today. Greenblatt in his recent remarks pointed out that “democracy is not a spectator sport. You don’t get to watch it from the bleachers. You gotta be on the field and you gotta play ball.” In other words, we all play a role and we all have a chance to be a pathbreaker or a trailblazer in fighting racism.
Racism
What do you think of when you hear the word? When was the last time you took a stand and silenced voices of hate? Or have you instead amplified and lifted up those voices? Have you been silent when you should have spoken up for someone else, or even for yourself?
Greenblatt reminded the audience that the sin of omission is troubling. And, he said, we must “interrupt intolerance with insistence.” True change requires a degree of intervention and deliberation. So don’t be passive; rather, be intentional in the stand against racism, just like the YWCA is doing with its campaign.
If we each do our part, in big or small ways, perhaps as Greenblatt said, South Florida can be “the petri dish for what’s possible in this country.”
We each have an opportunity to create a better world for our kids and their kids. It’s up to us to speak up, stand up and risk something to fight racism.
Racism
Hanging on the wall in my home office is the list of my daughter’s top three wishes. I keep it posted as a reminder that every day I have a fresh opportunity to ensure that her wish will one day come true. I have an opportunity to intervene and act deliberately and with intention when it comes to racism. Not just wish for it to go away.
You can participate in the YWCA campaign and join in taking a stand against racism. The campaign is from April 4-May 2. To learn more, visit www.ywcasouthflorida.org/ sar/.
Monica R. Richardson is executive editor of the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald. She also is a member of the YWCA South Florida Board of Directors.