What Must be Heard — It’s About More than Police Violence
What hasn’t been heard? Obstacles as well as contributions — ideas that combat stereotypes and lead to lasting change.
Yes, the national protests are about the murder of #GeorgeFloyd #ICantBreathe, but as many have pointed out, they are also about much, much more.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s statement about riots is getting widely shared these days: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
What is it that hasn’t been heard? Systemic and structural obstacles faced by black Americans, as well as the ways in which black Americans succeed and contribute to our nation — ideas which could combat negative stereotypes, build understanding and lead to lasting change.
Black Americans consistently bring attention to injustices, but their voices too often go unheard by those in power, and by white Americans more generally.
For example, the law enforcement system is filled with proven injustices such as:
- Judges are more likely to sentence black men to harsher sentences, including more likely to sentence black men to death than white men who commit the same crime.
- Simulation exercises have proven that police are more likely to shoot an unarmed black bystander than a white one.
Economic obstacles also abound:
- Equally qualified black applicants are less likely than others to be approved for loans.
- Employers are less likely to consider job applicants with “black sounding” names, even when resumes are otherwise identical.
Implicit bias has real and pernicious effects:
- Even among white research respondents with no reported negative racial attitudes, when shown an unknown black face, their amygdala — a brain region associated with fear — tends to become active.
- Due to persistent low level stress from dealing with racism, black mothers are more likely than white mothers to give birth to low-weight babies.
And being heard at the ballot box is more challenging:
- Black voters are more likely to be asked for picture ID when voting, meaning higher percentages are turned away, since people (of whatever race) don’t always have ID with them.
Together, these patterns and many, many others mean that life is harder and more dangerous for black people than it is for whites, in ways that are felt daily and over the course of lifetimes and generations. There are known steps that could address many of these problems, but until the problems are first heard and listened to, positive change will be far too slow, and people’s pain and frustration will continue.
Racism continues in part due to a tenacious narrative that frames black people, especially black men, as dangerous and flawed. And yet, contrary to harmful stereotypes, African American life overall is marked by achievements, service and connection to family. Here is a summary of some of this missing picture, from Afro.com, drawing on work by Trabian Shorters**:
There are far more black males in colleges than in prisons. Black men serve this country in uniform at a higher rate than all other men, according to the U.S. Army. The rate of business creation by black males has been growing at nearly twice the national average for more than a decade, according to the U.S. Census. According to the National Institutes of Health, black men who live with their children are the most likely to bathe, dress, diaper, and interact with them daily. Also, black men who do not live with their children are the most likely to still maintain contact even after remarrying.
In other words, African Americans are already an enormous source of talent, energy and potential for our country, and can be even more so if unjust and needless obstacles are removed and negative stereotypes overcome.
If there were ever a moment for Americans to hear and listen to these truths, let this be it.
* No formal footnotes are offered here — there are many easily available sources, such as Jerry Kang’s Ted Talk “Immaculate Perception,” the Opportunity Agenda’s publication “Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys” and a recent legal study entitled “Barriers to the Ballot Box: Implicit Bias and Voting Rights in the 21st Century.”
