Kneeling and free speech
We kneel to pray, we kneel to protest, and now kneeling is an act of murder and oppression against people of color. George Floyd’s death is another milestone in never-ending racism and divisiveness in this country. Free speech, advocacy by white allies, and voting are key to reframe the act of kneeling. But will we be able to effectively use free speech to fight against racism and white supremacy?
In August 2016, Colin Kaepernick knelt for the first time during The Star-Spangled Banner to protest violence against people of color by law enforcement. This was a simple and peaceful act of free speech. As we know, this action was praised, punished, vilified, and is the epitome of what free speech is supposed to be in America. To make people think, move them to action, and enact change. White Americans did not want to hear what Kaepernick was trying to tell us. We moved on to elect a racist President and other officials who fed and exploited racism, which has plagued our nation for centuries. White Americans, like myself, failed to connect how our privilege made things worse. As a result, we have seen more murders of people of color at the hands of police such as George Floyd, Aubrey Ahmad, and Breonna Taylor. As the streets are raging with protests and the anger and pain boil over it seems our country is ripping apart at the seams.
Free speech is the touchstone of our constitutional rights. Increasingly there is a fine line between free speech to express ideas for the greater good and speech perpetrated to oppress people of color, defame, and confuse people about the truth and stoke violence. Too many are hiding behind the First Amendment to do terrible things and pervert this right afforded to Americans. This is manifesting itself in not only the oppression of people of color but in the refusal to wear a mask to ensure public health for everyone, unfettered demand to have access to guns, and a President and many others who use social media to stoke violence and division and spread false information about voting rights and other topics. People can say and do whatever they want but it is up to us collectively to manage the impact and harness the power of free speech.
White Americans must wield our free speech to stem the tide of racism. I naively thought when President Obama was elected racism was becoming a part of our painful history. I still want to believe we are the same country who elected an African American president but now understand we are also a country who elected a president like Trump. Racism is alive and well and has flourished in the last four years. It is with greater urgency I embrace the role I play in racism. My quiet nature may not serve me well in this effort but with humility, I am learning as much as I can to understand the impact of my white privilege. I am comfortable with being uncomfortable. I will lean-in to understand the trauma of communities of color and the truth of systemic racism. My hope is with open eyes and an open heart to listen to the experience of people of color and to be an ally and apply my skills in ways to do better. I have relied on my social work superpower of empathy to try to understand the experience of people of color. I am grateful for my social work colleagues who have pointed me to the right research, perspectives, readings, and actions to do better.
In times like these remembering the past helps to frame the present and future. Martin Luther King’s message and memory has been all over social media. It is worth a mention here of King’s last speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop," at Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis. I encourage you to read the full speech. There are many relevant passages for what we are experiencing today. The mentions of our survival depends on grappling with our history, the urgency to bring people of color out of poverty, the media coverage of violence which diminishes the purpose of the protest, and America needs to be true to what it says on paper regarding freedom of speech, assembly, and the press. I reflected on the last words in this speech, which are the most famous. It is a foreshadowing of King’s murder, “And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you.” This is hopeful in a way that justice for people of color, the Promised Land, was within reach. In another view, I think may be King knew he would never live long enough, even if he was not assassinated, to see the end racism. The passage of civil rights was only the beginning of a very long road ahead to actualize his vision. We have yet to realize how much further we need to go.
Where our country goes from here is up to us (white people). We are in a very dark place. Will we kneel in the spirit of free speech and protest to end racism or continue to murder people of color? An election is around the corner and we have to muster our courage, our words, our actions and, our free speech to elect a President and legislators who will move this country forward in a better direction. Our survival depends on it.