The Buzz: Are You Woke?

After the tragic deaths of Breanna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, I was initially encouraged by workplace conversations. A coworker asked me how I was doing. Reflecting on the question, I realized how angry I was. A child of the sixties, I was appalled that recent events suggested we had achieved minimal progress regarding the collective rights of African Americans. At the same time, I thought the country might be at a turning point because I was discussing these events… at work… with white people!  

What followed were continued group discussions and unified moments of silence. Employers made time to plan and organize group discussions, designed to help their employees of color process their trauma of yet another senseless murder at the hands of those sworn to protect (or in Arbery’s case, two white men who felt privileged enough to police, chase and shoot this young man because he was Black and existing in their neighborhood). There were also several highly acclaimed books that people of many races read, trying to understand and become “woke” to the racial injustice in America. Many agreed that the racist acts depicted in the media and talked about in homes, classrooms and workplaces were horrible and shameful, and that these things should not happen in our modern society. 

Many white Americans were newly confronted with racist atrocities and related emotions in 2020. There were demands for reform and change, and the noise had a favorable flavor, but the reality left much to be desired. Too many times, the response has been “…but I’m not racist,” and “White privilege is not real – and even if it is, I have not benefitted from it.”  

The reality is, though, that racism has created such a gap that at present it is impossible for so many people to equally participate in acquiring the “American Dream.” Hard work alone cannot get you there; white people have too much of a head start, and there are simply too many structural roadblocks: substandard education and housing, biased financial lending systems and inequitable hiring practices, to name a few. Just two months ago another young man was gunned down by a veteran police officer who thought she was using her taser! We have not made progress. Nothing has changed through whites’ acknowledgment of the horror of these murders. Change cannot come about until white individuals, politicians, lawmakers and employers can admit racism is real and that they individually benefit from and perpetuate this systemic racism.

White Americans have, and continue to, reap benefits of a society that was founded upon the belief that Black people were less than human. The systems that perpetrated the atrocity of slavery and the Jim Crow laws are still intact; financial institutions have systems that discriminate against African Americans, making it hard to acquire a loan. Newer neighborhoods are built without public transportation, limiting the pool of individuals that would be interested in or able to move into those areas. Even if non-white people move to these neighborhoods, they are targeted and stopped by police, who inquire as to what they are doing in the area. 

A diverse and inclusive future requires the destruction and remolding of the American Blueprint. In order to accomplish this, many members in our white society must acknowledge, “I am a part of the problem.” Regardless of our racial identities, we must all demand change in our laws, zoning, educational systems, financial systems and every other system by which America operates. Change starts with acknowledgement. Acknowledgement leads to responsibility, and responsibility can and will effect change. So, are you really woke?