We must have an agreed-upon set of rules that apply to all our people
In the preface to the paperback edition of Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi writes that as he studied America’s racial past, he saw two distinct historical forces: “I saw a dual and dueling history of racial progress and the simultaneous progression of racism. I saw the antiracist force of equality and the racist force of inequality marching forward, progressing in rhetoric, in tactics, in policies.”
This dueling duality was on full display in America on January 6th. In an historic demonstration of grassroots organizing and power, Georgia voters elected not one, but two, Democratic Senators. Raphael Warnock became the state’s first-ever African American Senator, having run on a platform emphasizing health, jobs, and criminal justice reform. In doing so, he and Jon Ossoff delivered President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris control of both the executive and legislative branches of government for at least the next two years.
But, on the same day the Georgia results were finalized, we watched in horror as the US Capitol building was brutally besieged by domestic terrorists—not patriots, not protestors—who waved the confederate flag as they thuggishly attacked the people and institutions upholding the lawful federal election results.
In the literal sense, a duel is a fight between two people with deadly weapons who have adopted an agreed-upon set of rules. As the echoes of Wednesday’s events settle in, we must grapple mightily with the fact that we don’t have an agreed upon set of rules that apply to all of our people. What we saw on Wednesday was unequivocal evidence of racial apartheid. The angry, white mob that handily breeched the Capitol building, putting the lives and limbs of Congresspeople and federal staff at risk, were and are treated according to a preferential, sympathetic, and advantageous set of rules that other people are not assured.
It is right to demand justice, accountability, and full restitution from Wednesday’s insurgents. It is fair to insist that they face penalties for the crimes they have committed, the damage they have done, and the fear that they have inflicted. It is also true that Donald Trump needs to be held to account for his actions and the violence he has incited throughout his term.
Yet, no penalty can heal the deep wound that results from the flaunting of the injustice of unbridled white privilege. Every person of color I know watched Wednesday’s events knowing that no Black or brown person—let alone group—would have or could have ever gotten that close to the Capitol building without facing a brutal beating or bloody death—even if their demands were righteous and their means peaceful.
If we are to end this dual and dueling history of racial progress and find our path toward equality, democracy, and antiracism, we need far more than accountability from Donald Trump. We need to march boldly toward racial justice and health equity to assure the rights of Black, Latino, Indigenous, people of color and all who are oppressed and marginalized by racist policies and practices.
The fact that white people and people of color don’t share the same set of rules affects every aspect of our lives. It means people of color don’t have the same quality of opportunities. It means people of color don’t receive the same quality of education. It means people of color are treated disproportionately and more cruelly at the hands of law enforcement. It means people of color don’t have the same access to resources that promote health, safety, and wellbeing. That is why Prevention institute and other public health and health equity organizations will continue to speak out at this moment and act to protect democratic processes and institutions that are at the very root of equitable distribution of resources and opportunities for people of color.
Throughout the day on January 6th, politicians and pundits said, “this isn’t America.” That is pure denial. It was and is. If we don’t want it to be America, we must demand a more perfect union and commit ourselves to doing the hard work that is required in the march toward equality and justice, selecting words, tactics, policies, and politics that uphold our cherished institutions, dismantle institutional structures that reinforce racism and inequity, and stop those who would seek to destroy our democracy.
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