“Politicians: Stop saying we need dialogue. We don’t need dialogue. We need the state to stop murdering people.”
~ Bree Newsome
“Police in the United States work for us; they are accountable to the government officials we elect, and our taxes pay their salaries. So we have the power. It’s our job to stop the killing.
Those who work with trauma survivors often speak of the importance of respecting their right to set boundaries and to determine what they need to be safe and to move forward. After centuries of trauma, it’s time for more than dialogue. It’s time for White people not only to listen to Black people, but also to be part of the solutions as Black people define them.
We White folks can nod sympathetically as Black and Brown neighbors share their pain (again) and relive the trauma, violence, and humiliations that are part of everyday life in a White-majority society. Then we can go back to life as usual—life that is less prone to violence and trauma because of our relative wealth and because we often live in safer neighborhoods. And we can conveniently ignore the historic reasons White people have, on average, more wealth and live in safer neighborhoods.
Many of the laws, policies, and practices that contribute to the brutalization of Black people, including Black youth, are established locally.
The good news is that many of these policy changes can be enacted where we live, via our state and local governments and local school systems.”
~Sarah van Gelder
Read the full article from Yes Magazine