What saddens me is that this experience will be engrained in these little girls’ memories forever. When asked, what was your first experience with race? Their answer may very well be, “when Rosita would not high-five or hug me at Sesame Place in Philadelphia when I was 6.” Every Black person remembers their first encounter with racism.
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On Friday, June 24, 2022, the United States of America set itself back 50 years. In a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established a federal constitutional right to abortion in 1973. I absolutely respect those who oppose abortion and for religious or other reasons would never have one. What I am against is government regulating what a person can choose to do with their body — a government of majority white cisgender men. So, what’s next?
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While Walmart’s Juneteenth ice cream and other brands’ similar blunders (see Juneteenth watermelon salad), may have been operating from a place of positive intent—to affirm the value and history of Black people—the impact was clearly the opposite. It leaves one wondering: who was consulted, and how many of them were Black?
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This past Monday, we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day–a national holiday to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King and his tireless fight for civil rights for Black Americans. On MLK day, every year, we are flooded with quotes on social media and in the news. Politicians make statements commemorating Dr. King, while at the same time enacting or opposing legislation that disavows the ideals he lived and died to advance. I want to maintain the same hope that Dr. King had in his speech: “And I tell you why we shall overcome. Because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
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Joseph B. Hill was ready to start his new role as Vice President, Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston. His high was quickly brought down, however, when he received a two-sentence email rescinding his job offer, just four days before he was set to start. Among other senseless rationale was that he was “too sensitive on race issues.” Is the diversity executive role just performative?
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