The Attack on Black Progress: How Racism is Baked into the System

My daughter, who frequently misses the bus, said two things to me this morning: (1) Let's go so I'm not late to school." I thought, "Hmm, maybe you should have caught the bus." And (2) "Takeoff got killed today." I said, "What? What is Takeoff?" She replied, "He's a rapper with Migos." After I took her to school, I looked on Twitter (the Town Square) and learned that kids and adults around the world were devastated to find out that Takeoff was killed. Yet something intrigued me. There were a multitude of people asking questions on Twitter such as: "What does it mean to be Black if you could get killed over a dice game?"

Wait a minute! My generation accepted stereotypical ideas of what it meant to be Black: you had to be a certain skin color; you did not speak like you were "White" (i.e., proper English); you had to work two times harder than everyone else; you smoked weed; you weren't good in math; your career choices were limited to becoming a gangster, rapper, basketball or football player; you lived in the hood; and you were raised by a single mom. Of course, this demographic profile is not indicative of the entire Black community, but many people thought it was, and some still do. This generation is different however. They want to know why this stereotype exists-- especially since it is not reflective of their actual experiences. My generation didn't ask these questions. We simply sought to fit into the stereotype.

Honestly, I've been a little down with all of the attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). It felt like a weight to see news cycle after news cycle whining about DEI. Then today, something miraculous happened. I saw those Twitter posts with young people asking questions that are central to Black culture today. Suddenly, I began to think differently.

The recent state laws, book bans at school, abortion bans, voting limitations, and the most recent Supreme Court challenge, are all examples of how racism is baked into America's educational and legal systems. We're not talking about a perceived injustice, like "I didn't get into the college that I wanted because some Black student took my opportunity away." In reality, the data shows that you didn't get in because: (1) you didn't work hard enough, or (2) you are not a student who is an athlete, or a child of a graduate, donor, booster, or faculty/staff person. This means that a lack of opportunity is your perception because there are no facts to back it up. Certainly, when Black students don't get into a college, they never blame someone who is White. The fact that you can adjudicate a case that blames Blacks, as well as adversely targets, and disparately impacts, one racial group is an actual injustice.

Accordingly, the stakes are high. At issue is preserving this system of racism. Racism is a social construct that determines who has the privilege to access power and resources. There was a video on Twitter that eloquently describes the social construct as a pyramid. Certainly, it is troublesome for some people to think that the U.S. has had a Black President, Black Vice President, two Black Supreme Court Justices, Black Billionaires, and a Black Princess. How dare these Black people step out of their place on the social construct? How can we stop more Blacks from dreaming big? And this is at the heart of all of these attacks.

• Abortion? People don't care about "life"; if they did, they would get guns off the streets. I read a CNN article that implied Abortion was a 'racial remedy'. Hmm, what does that mean? Beyond a surface-level discussion about demographics, Black women have been having babies later in life-- after a post-secondary education, after getting married, and after achieving middle-class status-- which ultimately allows them and their families to make more progress. THIS has an impact on Black children not being raised in poverty. THIS impacts education and career possibilities. And THIS impacts prisons.
• Book Bans and Errant History Lessons? Someone had the nerve to say "alleged historic inequities" on a LinkedIn post. Huh? So now it's fake news that Blacks have experienced historic inequities? Yeah, we brought everything on ourselves while friggin' laws were written so that Blacks couldn't own property, couldn't vote, couldn't get an education, couldn't get a trademark...and when they finally could do these things, they got a later start. In spite of all of this, Blacks still rose in every field of human endeavor. Believe or not, lies about history can only benefit one group. It's fine if we teach kids errant slave lessons (e.g., let's pretend all the Black students are on a slave ship or let's ask students to pick cotton), but we'll quickly ban a book that shares a story written by a Black author. Here's the rationale: if you read that you are only a slave, you will be enslaved in your mind.
• Affirmative Action in Education? One man lost a congressional race and made it his mission to make the people pay who were responsible for his loss. For years, he has sought to achieve victory one way or another through the U.S. Supreme Court system. Fox News ran an article about Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stating, "Affirmative Action supporters also say it is important to ensure diversity at universities, which serve as pipelines to key leadership positions in society." Today, one man seeks to keep race out of modern-day admissions decisions in hopes that Black students won't be admitted. Meanwhile, race factors into every other decision from who to hire, to who gets credit, to how much your home is appraised for, to who gets the best medical care.
• Voting? Let some Black folks show up at polling places with guns...enough said. People will want to arrest them like Florida arrested confused voters who happened to be Black, or like Texas sentenced a Black woman to five years in prison for "voter fraud".

What is it about Black folks that drives America to this level of extremism? It's fanatical and unreasonable-- it's not in your Bible, it's not a counter-attack, and it's not politics-- you worship your skin color/status and want it to give you benefits like a god. If Blacks were the worst (like folks say), no one would worry about them making progress. But there must be a reason to be jealous, intimidated, or fearful that these folks will come together or unite with others to take over. Well, there's good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad news first:

We're not going anywhere

The good news may be equally concerning: there is more than one way to skin a cat! Keep in mind, the "systems" were never designed for Black folks anyway so why would Blacks rely on American systems to get things done? We're going to do things our own way, thank you very much. Remember that crack cocaine epidemic that was supposed to destroy the Black community? What government systems (e.g., the prison industrial complex, police, the 3 strikes you're out law, mental health resources, etc.) helped Black people to stop crack from ravaging Black families? Right-- Blacks did it on their own so that their kids and grandkids could have a better life. And remember when folks complained about welfare and developed harsh policies because some Blacks received food stamps? The message should have been: Hey employers, stop underpaying women of color and you won't have to worry about people needing public assistance. Yet, instead of the government enforcing fair pay laws, they cut welfare benefits. Now that Black people have jobs, folks are still mad.

So, here's what we are going to do. We can overlook these little transgressions and you can ride on this DEI train with us to create a fair and equitable world that works for everyone. Together, we can all level-up our skills, discuss our challenges to equity and inclusion, and ensure that no-one gets left behind. Or, you could simply leave people alone. The last alternative is this: you can keep trying to put Blacks "in their place", and we can turn up the heat. There's a lot of ways that this can work but here's some ideas:

1. Hold healthcare organizations accountable for Black maternal and child health. Let's put pressure on the government and insurance companies to stop using our hard-earned tax dollars to fund hospitals and providers who have an excessive number of Black female deaths.
2. Hold gun manufacturers and lobbyists accountable for the excessive proliferation of guns in Black communities. Instead of suing police departments for excessive force, let's also sue these gun manufacturers and lobbyists for all of the violence in inner cities.
3. Launch social media campaigns to support Black schools, universities, businesses, and families. Because the U.S. Census has been undercounting Black people for years, there is no actual estimation about the true demographic profile of the modern-day Black family. Let's change the stories/stereotypes about Blacks, as well as shift the narrative in respect to community engagement. Certainly, giving and sharing has always been a strength as it takes a village to raise a child. Forget what the old-guard media says about the public yearning for violence and negativity; highlight the success stories of people helping people.
4. Share more Black experiences in the workplace and marketplace, like on Black Twitter, Radio One, KBLA-Radio, and other Black-owned media outlets. If Elon Musk shuts Black Twitter down, create a new social media company.
5. Invest in Black-owned businesses. Stop talking about the lack of fairness in funding, and make smaller donations (if necessary) to help get these companies off the ground.
6. Buy books with diverse stories. Give a book as a gift for birthdays, holidays, promotions, or any other celebratory event. Encourage kids, new families, divorcees, widowers, resource group members, etc. to start book clubs.
7. Seek out non-traditional career fields-- somebody's hiring. Find out who needs the help and won't discriminate. Don't stay in jobs where people are mean to you because of your skin color; work for companies who care about the value that you bring to the table. If you can't get a job, get mentoring so you can start your own business.
8. Be mindful of those folks who hate themselves or hate people who look like them. It's a doggone shame that they are anti-Black and perpetuating the system of racism, but don't make excuses for their bad behavior. And don't condone their antics against other communities of color / diverse groups.

There are hundreds of ideas to ensure that 2050 doesn't resemble 1950-- but one thing is for sure, we ain't going back. Progress will be made for Blacks, as well as for every other group under the DEI umbrella. RIP Takeoff.

If you get a chance, check out #Dice Game, #Takeoff, and #Rest in Paradise.

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By Leah Smiley, CDE, President of The Society for Diversity, Inc.