Things White People Can Do To Promote Racial Justice

[missy]

Here is a good Anti Racist resource guide IMO.

Anti-Racist Resource Guide

docs.google.com

 

[missy]

Some movie recommendations.

Here Are 7 Movies To Learn More About Racism And Black History

These movies tell stories of the United States' racist past and present.

www.huffpost.com

 

[doberman]

Some movie recommendations.

Here Are 7 Movies To Learn More About Racism And Black History

These movies tell stories of the United States' racist past and present.

www.huffpost.com

Have to add Do The Right Thing by Spike Lee

 

[Arcadian]

 

[Arkteia]

I keep seeing stories and little squares on instagram calling to sign petitions to defund the police and I want to ask about this. I don't wish to be attacked, I'm trying to understand.

I dated a policeman years ago. The area in which I lived at the time didn't pay them very well ($22-$23k about 15 years ago if I remember correctly), training was quick (6 weeks), and the police were expected to put their lives on the line. I don't know if this is still the case, looking it up very quickly $38,000 USD yearly salary seems going rate for the first couple of years on the job. That seems very low, but I don't know if my google search was accurate or current.

How does defunding police help? I always thought higher salaries to attract people and providing more training equalled better employees. Paying people enough that they are invested and committed to their jobs without having to worry about how to pay their rent seems smart. Defunding the police seems counter-productive and counter-intuitive.

Are these square saying what I think they are? And how would that actually work in making the police better at their jobs and accomplishing goals of acknowledging and correcting racial bias?

I foresee that haste decisions would lead to cities splitting into areas that would pay for own “private” police, and those that would not. In fact, the poorest neighborhoods will be punished the most. And of course, defunding police can only end up with more guns per capita and busier days as the rifle ranges. That I can guarantee.

Also - training police better and maybe, changing the emphasis would help.

When reading through the biographies of the four policemen involved in Floyd’s death (can’t formally say guilty yet) - has anything surprised you?

Me - I was shocked at their education and career paths. It is as if...lots of things didn’t work, so they ended up with the police. One of them didn’t even graduate from high school and took GED.

In many other cases when you wonder, what they were thinking of, it comes to the same thing, rookie cops, probably misfit for the police job.

This article is interesting because it discusses the training of Mohamed Noor, a Somali-American officer, involved in the shooting of Australian woman, Justine Damond.

Former police officer Mohamed Noor breaks silence about Justine Damond shooting | Justine Damond shooting | The Guardian

Defendant gives evidence about cadet training, saying: ‘Action is better than reaction’

amp.theguardian.com

Mohamed Noor had better education. He might have been too analytical and there were concerns about his fitness to be a cop (I have a feeling he would have done better in criminology). But - his training was fast, of a boot camp-type, possibly geared at making him “shoot faster” - well, we see the result. This type of training did helped neither him, nor the victim, nor the city.

Maybe more investment, root-cause analysis and better training could save on the incidence of compensations, also, out of our pockets.

 

[jaaron]

If you know people who are racist or who deny racism exists and no amount of discussion changes their perspective, ask them the same question Jane Elliott asks her audience:

I'm glad you mentioned Jane Elliott, Matata - I was given this book as a child, growing up in a basically all-white suburb. It teaches such a profound lesson so simply-- I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it's stayed with me my entire life


.

 

[Matata]

I'm glad you mentioned Jane Elliott, Matata - I was given this book as a child, growing up in a basically all-white suburb. It teaches such a profound lesson so simply-- I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it's stayed with me my entire life

There are videos of her on youtube talking about what happened to her after she did the brown eye/blue eye lesson the first time. Friends, colleagues ostracized her, parents wanted her fired, she got death threats.

Here's the experiment in practice on an old Oprah show for those who are interested.

http://www.oprah.com/own-oprahshow/jane-elliotts-blue-eyesbrown-eyes-anti-racism-experiment

 

[JPie]

@Rhea I think "defunding" might not be the best word for it as it implies we're taking funds away, but it doesn't get into what we would do with those funds instead. Among other things, It's about shifting funds to existing community organizations that are better equipped to handle problems like domestic violence and mental health crises.

This site has an excellent, detailed history of policing in Minneapolis which makes the case for why incremental reforms aren't enough: https://www.mpd150.com/report/past/

This is their FAQs about what defunding means: https://www.mpd150.com/faq/

Here's recent NPR coverage on the violent & racist roots of modern policing in America: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/869046127

 

[Dancing Fire]

Here's what white people need to do...

White Cops & Civilians Wash Black Protesters' Feet, Seek Forgiveness

White community members washed the feet of black faith leaders and organizers in North Carolina.

www.tmz.com

 

[yssie]

On the one hand there is no doubt that many jurisdictions’ PDs are called on to solve far too many problems, don't train personnel sufficiently, don't compensate personnel commensurate with their responsibilities, and include too many $***** who don’t have all community members’ best interests at heart.

On the other, the problems that are reflected in those communities' PDs - systemic social and economic inequalities, ingrained behaviours - are problems within those communities first and foremost. Does anyone have information about large-scale community-wide efforts - “training”/“education” (I'm not sure what to call it?) to avoid perpetuating these problems?

I hope to see Minneapolis build this idea out into a successful model. I do, however, fear the damage we may see from vigilantes, political power plays, and financial agendas. I should acknowledge explicitly that I still don't fully understand this - reading about something on the internet for one day does not an expert make.

 

[JPie]

Here’s an article about Camden, NJ. They dissolved their police force in 2013 and replaced it with a country force that’s twice the size as the old one, and with an emphasis on de-escalation:

The City That Remade Its Police Department

Camden, N.J.’s detailed rules on use of force are a model for reform but not a panacea.

www.bloomberg.com

I don’t fully understand what the options are for defunding or dissolving existing forces, but it seems it can be and has been done.

 

[Lilith112]

On the one hand there is no doubt that many jurisdictions’ PDs are called on to solve far too many problems, don't train personnel sufficiently, don't compensate personnel commensurate with their responsibilities, and include too many $***** who don’t have all community members’ best interests at heart.

On the other, the problems that are reflected in those communities' PDs - systemic social and economic inequalities, ingrained behaviours - are problems within those communities first and foremost. Does anyone have information about large-scale community-wide efforts - “training”/“education” (I'm not sure what to call it?) to avoid perpetuating these problems?

I hope to see Minneapolis build this idea out into a successful model. I do, however, fear the damage we may see from vigilantes, political power plays, and financial agendas. I should acknowledge explicitly that I still don't fully understand this - reading about something on the internet for one day does not an expert make.

John Oliver just had a powerful piece on the police that I highly recommend everyone to watch:

And I hope everyone watches the last 2 minutes because they are the most powerful. A democratic society is dictated by a social contract-- one in which the masses trade in a degree of freedom & autonomy for safety and security. The problem is that social contract has been broken repeatedly, over and over again. This has happened repeatedly despite various commissions and investigations about reform measures-- many of which that have been ignored.

Frankly, I'm in favor of tearing down the current system and rebuilding it from scratch. Cops from all over the U.S. have proven they can't be trusted and they don't act in our interests. Protesters and activists have called for reforms for years and years, and if our only solution is incremental reform, that's weak AF. Policing, social structure, and the justice system needs a complete structural reform because the very foundation rests on white supremacy and racism.

 

[yssie]

@JPie, @Lilith112 - Thanks for the links, I'll read/watch later tonight.

 

[NonieMarie]

Yes, this was so powerful.

John Oliver just had a powerful piece on the police that I highly recommend everyone to watch:

And I hope everyone watches the last 2 minutes because they are the most powerful. A democratic society is dictated by a social contract-- one in which the masses trade in a degree of freedom & autonomy for safety and security. The problem is that social contract has been broken repeatedly, over and over again. This has happened repeatedly despite various commissions and investigations about reform measures-- many of which that have been ignored.

Frankly, I'm in favor of tearing down the current system and rebuilding it from scratch. Cops from all over the U.S. have proven they can't be trusted and they don't act in our interests. Protesters and activists have called for reforms for years and years, and if our only solution is incremental reform, that's weak AF. Policing, social structure, and the justice system needs a complete structural reform because the very foundation rests on white supremacy and racism.

 

[arkieb1]

Slight thread hijack, but here’s one for Asian PSers.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

There’s no denying that Asian culture is racist. My parents are definitely prejudiced against black people, and my aunt is the most racist person I know in real life. She says things as hateful as any white supremacist, except it’s coming from the mouth of a little old Chinese lady. I have work to do on my family and myself.

This is fascinating to me, obviously the US is different to Australia. In Australia we had the white Australia policy, a policy that set out to discriminate against Chinese people and Asian people for decades. So the white people here put black Indigenous Australians in the same general grouping as the first Chinese who arrived here, that came out with the gold rushes.

My history is that my Chinese family members came here in the very first gold rush and my 97 year old Chinese grandmother was born here, she married into a black Indigenous family.

And a number of Black Indigenous people that are my "mob" or from the same general geographical location have Asian sounding names despite being Aboriginal, and out where they come from you find Aboriginal people still today with very Asian sounding names, like Ah See (which btw is now an Aboriginal surname) and so on.

Clearly not all Asian people are racist. The newer arrivals in Australia probably are but I know the older generations that have faced discrimination at every level themselves mostly here are not. And I know a number of families that are Chinese and Aboriginal.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Here’s an article about Camden, NJ. They dissolved their police force in 2013 and replaced it with a country force that’s twice the size as the old one, and with an emphasis on de-escalation:

The City That Remade Its Police Department

Camden, N.J.’s detailed rules on use of force are a model for reform but not a panacea.

www.bloomberg.com

I don’t fully understand what the options are for defunding or dissolving existing forces, but it seems it can be and has been done.

Camden is a good example of how reforms & a higher police presence may help bring down violent crime rates, but local sources also correlate the lower violent crime stats with the strong economy ... Bloomberg - unsurprisingly - is silent to that fact.

Since the county police department was stood up more than six years ago, the city has experienced unprecedented private and public investment, more than $2.5 billion, from new corporate campuses, academic buildings and park construction. Furthermore, according to the U.S. Census Bureau the poverty rate has decreased by 14 percent since 2013, the job rate growth led the nation in 2017 and the high school dropout rate has been cut in half since 2013. Furthermore, Rutgers-Camden has ushered in its largest student body ever, unemployment is at a 30-year low and more than $53 million is being invested into the city’s infrastructure this fiscal year.

Source: https://snjtoday.com/2020/01/07/camden-city-experiences-historic-drop-in-crime-rate-new-study-says/

“As far as the change that has taken place, the number one difference is resources,” Camden County Police Chief Joe Wysocki told TAPinto Camden. “Cops count and police matter, so by almost doubling the amount of officers on the street that has given us a much larger footprint to focus on community engagement and creating a dialogue with residents that has been missing for decades in the city.”
...
In 2013, the city of Camden disbanded its 140+ year police force and formed a new department with the county.

In the immediate, the shift meant the hiring of more officers, and thus a heavier presence in local neighborhoods. That year the force went from 268 officers to 418. Today, that figure rounds out at about the same.
...
Sean Brown, an active community member, agreed that Camden is safer but with a caveat.

“I believe it's better but only because the economy across the nation is getting better,” said Brown, a resident of Fairview in southern Camden for the past eight years. “Yes, there are more police officers walking the streets. However, until the city and this nation get a grip on the impact of drug addiction, including the selling of drugs in open-air markets, I don't think anyone in Camden or the region can be truly safe.”

Source: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/camde...icles/camden-sees-crime-drop-over-past-decade

 

[Arcadian]

Juneteenth this year will be....interesting. Imma see what happens. For those that don't understand what that means http://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/juneteenth/ The climate in which we live currently will impact this day greatly.

 

[JPie]

This is fascinating to me, obviously the US is different to Australia. In Australia we had the white Australia policy, a policy that set out to discriminate against Chinese people and Asian people for decades. So the white people here put black Indigenous Australians in the same general grouping as the first Chinese who arrived here, that came out with the gold rushes.

My history is that my Chinese family members came here in the very first gold rush and my 97 year old Chinese grandmother was born here, she married into a black Indigenous family.

And a number of Black Indigenous people that are my "mob" or from the same general geographical location have Asian sounding names despite being Aboriginal, and out where they come from you find Aboriginal people still today with very Asian sounding names, like Ah See (which btw is now an Aboriginal surname) and so on.

Clearly not all Asian people are racist. The newer arrivals in Australia probably are but I know the older generations that have faced discrimination at every level themselves mostly here are not. And I know a number of families that are Chinese and Aboriginal.

Maybe the better way to put it is that we all have implicit biases. It doesn’t necessarily make a person a racist.

Edited to add: the reason why I said Asian culture is racist is because we do not look at each as part of a monolith. From the perspective of mainland Chinese, there’s a hierarchy of other Asians based on wealth and other superficial qualities. I assumed it was the same across other Asian communities.

 

[JPie]

Here’s a link to Robin DiAngelo’s original paper on white fragility.

https://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/viewFile/249/116

 

[JPie]

Great IG for learning about the struggles of indigenous peoples, which intersects with the Black struggle against racism:

Login • Instagram

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instagram.com

 

[missy]

Holocaust Survivor Stops by Chicago Protest to Support Black Lives Matter Movement

A woman who survived captivity in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II reportedly stopped [...]

popculture.com

 

[Jambalaya]

John Oliver just had a powerful piece on the police that I highly recommend everyone to watch:

And I hope everyone watches the last 2 minutes because they are the most powerful. A democratic society is dictated by a social contract-- one in which the masses trade in a degree of freedom & autonomy for safety and security. The problem is that social contract has been broken repeatedly, over and over again. This has happened repeatedly despite various commissions and investigations about reform measures-- many of which that have been ignored.

Frankly, I'm in favor of tearing down the current system and rebuilding it from scratch. Cops from all over the U.S. have proven they can't be trusted and they don't act in our interests. Protesters and activists have called for reforms for years and years, and if our only solution is incremental reform, that's weak AF. Policing, social structure, and the justice system needs a complete structural reform because the very foundation rests on white supremacy and racism.

WOW. The last two minutes, indeed. Just wow. Everyone should watch that woman.