2020- The Year of Awakening & Action

 

For all of the challenges the world has faced in 2020 with respect to a 100-year global pandemic, there was good news in the fight for racial justice. Twenty-twenty will be remembered as the tipping point for equity and justice, the likes that haven’t been seen in the United States since the 1960’s. The callous and wanton murder of George Floyd in May of 2020 sparked a revolution and a call for justice so long overdue that it sent a tidal wave of change that can be considered a silver lining for this year: a silver lining moving human-kind forward during a post-Obama period saddled with many social justice set-backs.

Such set-backs by the 45th administration as:

• The January 20, 2017 removal of LGBTQ+ issues removed from the official White House webpage less than two hours after the 45^th president of the United States was sworn in.

• The January 25, 2017 executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to begin constructing a wall along the Mexico-U.S. border and the immediate detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

• The January 27^th executive order banning foreign nationals from seven predominately Muslim countries from visiting the United States for 90 days and prohibiting other refugees from coming to the United States for 120 days.

• The September 25, 2017 announcement to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) ending legal protections granted to 800,000 Dreamers who were illegally brought to this country as children by their parents.

• The September 22, 2020 Executive Order that bans anti-racism training to federal contractors ironically labeling the training “race and sex stereotyping.”

These are just a few actions that began under the 45th presidential administration sending a strong signal to people of color, immigrants of color, and the LGBTQ+ communities that they don’t matter. On January 21^st I recall a good friend of mine who identifies as gay, stopping by my office to visit me and asking if I been was aware of the removal of LGBTQ+ issues from the White House website. I will never forget the look on his face. It was the look of someone who felt erased, like they didn’t matter. It is the same look I’ve seen in the eyes of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors after a black community member’s life has been erased by police, the people our tax dollars pay to protect us. It is the look of powerlessness and sadness all balled up into a knot of frustration. A look of betrayal in the principles that we learned in kindergarten: to be kind, treat everyone fairly and with respect, and that we are all equal.

 

There is a Chinese philosophy represented by the yin yang symbol that embraces polarities. By embracing the challenges of 2020, we also embrace the opportunities and if we look closely, we will see the truly amazing benefits that have come from our struggles.

 

Such examples of positive changes that have come from our awakening are:

• February of 2020 The Land O’ Lakes brand removes a Native American woman from its packaging.

• June of 2020 the Quaker Oats brand removes the Aunt Jemima woman from its pancake mix.

• June 5, 2020 video by National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell admitting that the league had been wrong for how they handled NFL player protests against police brutality and for how the league treated former NFL player Colin Kaepernick for initiating these protests in 2016.

• July 8, 2020 NBC Universal announces its “Fifty Percent Challenge Initiative” to hire 50% people of color and 50% women for its organization. Sadly, they did not give themselves a target date for this initiative which is a very important component for accountability.

• July 9, 2020 Facebook bans white nationalism and promises a new civil-rights hire to meet boycott demands.

• July 13, 2020 The Washington Redskins football team changes its name and logo, dropping the term “Redskins” which Native Americans consider offensive and have been lobbying for the term to be dropped from the team’s name for years.

• July 31, 2020 Google begins helping connect consumers to black-owned businesses by giving merchants the option to add “black-owned” to their business profiles.

• September 1, 2020 Ben & Jerry’s broadcasts a podcast that examines legal discrimination, segregation and state-sanctioned violence faced by African-Americans since the end of chattel slavery. (Incidentally, Ben & Jerry’s has one of the most comprehensive BLM statements that I have seen and find it exemplary. You can view their statement here: https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/media-center/dismantle-white-supremacy

Students of my equity, diversity, inclusiveness and/or allyship classes understand the great significance of these symbolic and systemic changes. These changes indicate a quantum leap in systemic changes from one of the oldest links in society to slavery: corporations. The corporate salary model is set up in a pyramid where some U.S. CEO’s make up to 300 times what their line workers earn. This extreme ratio of pay inequity stems from the slavery model where the workers make nothing while making those in charge become wealthy. There must be a better way to distribute wealth and create livable wages in the United States.

 

Corporate America is the backbone of the United States and once this backbone begins adopting systemic changes to dismantle racial oppression and inequity, our society has a great chance to create lasting change. Please note here that I did not make mention of the many generous organizations that gave tens of millions of dollars to BLM and other social justice causes because though helpful and beneficial, it is systems, policies and practices that contribute to inequitable outcomes for people of color and people from marginalized groups. Dismantling inequitable policies and practices is the best way to level the playing field and begin to walk our talk in the United States with respect to the equity we posit in our country’s governing documents.

Those of us who understand the importance to continue the fight for social and racial justice must press on and keep the momentum going. For more information on equity, diversity and inclusiveness consulting and training visit www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com