However, I want us to be as diligent as ever when it comes to effecting change. Because the atrocities aren’t just being committed in the criminal justice system, but in every facet of Black life in ways we would never suspect. For example, we all saw the Floyd video, we were all disgusted and therefore we used our collective voices to bring about change.
But what if you were unaware of the discrimination? What if this time, while you couldn’t feel the discrimination, it was just as harmful if not more than the racism we witnessed with Floyd? This is happening in digital form.
In April, I wrote an article where I stated: “We are already seeing how law enforcement agencies are incorporating facial recognition technologies into body-worn cameras to track the faces of their citizens. The criminal justice system is using predictive risk algorithms to decide who should be given bail. Employers and universities are using these algorithms to decide who gets accepted and who gets hired … Algorithmic bias in these areas could result in accidental privacy and free speech violations … and reinforce the social biases of race, economics … and ethnicity.”
Just this week it was reported that the Drug Enforcement Agency has been authorized to “conduct surveillance” of Floyd protests. They aren’t just blatantly killing us in front of our faces. The attack is on all fronts — so please, educate yourselves.
My point is this: Racism transforms. Because people are waking up and the times are changing, racism will become more skillful and tactful. In our continued fight for racial justice, we have to not only address the physical attacks, but also keep in mind that there is a digital attack as well.
Now is the time to organize, educate ourselves and see what role we can play individually to contribute to the fight for racial justice. While the Black Lives Matter mural located at Black Lives Matter Plaza is a beautiful display of unity and recognition, it is important we do not lose focus of the goal, which is to have police held accountable for their actions and to have real change enacted in the way that Black people are policed in this country. We can’t stop until we see it through.
Rest in peace to George Floyd and the countless Black lives lost to police brutality.
