Let’s Find Solutions to White Supremacy
Dear Christine – Thank you so much for what you have written about Pride and CRT. As an educator for over 45 years and an author of four education books, you are so on the mark with both subjects.
I am writing about a different topic today. As I look at the rise of white supremacy groups this is frightening and extremely disconcerting. As a grandparent and citizen, I believe there are solutions that will lessen white supremacy. I think one idea that would help many young people is an idea promoted by retired General Stanley McCrystal. He believes young people should give a year of public service to our country. If young people from various races, religions, and backgrounds were to come together they would learn about our commonalities and gain a sense of purpose. With a sense of purpose, we become aware we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.
Young people who participate in a year of public service could earn funding and credit toward college and trade school.
Now, more than ever, we need to bring our young people together around important work and projects. A year of public service could greatly help young people gain pride, confidence, and purpose.
Becky Wheat
The Fight Against White Supremacy
Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth a Federal holiday, marking the day in 1865 when Black people in the U.S. gained freedom from slavery. Emancipation did not stop the repression of Black people, nor will this new gesture change much.
The bill was passed against the backdrop of the murder of George Floyd and the actions of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which brought this history of injustice to global attention. Yet the past year has seen a surge in the activities of white supremacist groups across the West, resulting in U.N. Secretary General Antonio Gutteres describing white supremacy as one of the biggest challenges facing the world.
Despite this global awakening to the problem, it is still unclear if Western nations have understood that the core driver of racial injustice—in their midst and globally—is the need to retain white global economic power at all costs. There is growing awareness that social structures have helped grow racist mindsets and behaviors among white communities, allowing them to benefit from a construct that places whites at the top of an economic, political and cultural pecking order. But dismantling these will not be easy, as they are the very same structures on which the modern world is built.
The difficulty arises because race generally does not feature in mainstream discussions of global governance. Yet, it would be naïve to not understand that the racist views of Western leaders have factored into major decisions, including acts of aggression on others seen as inferior. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once said “We think the price is worth it” after being…
Read the full article in Time here
cover image: Demonstrators attend a Black Lives Matter protest to express solidarity with US protestors in Sydney on June 6, 2020 and demand an end to frequent Aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia. SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images