It is said that 20/20 vision is 20/20. Well, two years after the “racial reckoning” of summer 2020, some might say that our hindsight is still a bit blurry when it comes to equality and racial justice. In response to the deaths of several unarmed Black Americans, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, protests erupted that summer. Large-scale protests erupted in cities across the United States for weeks, shedding light onto America’s ongoing problems of racism and discrimination. Now, as we repeat “I can’t breathe” and “say their names” in response to a tragically familiar onslaught of Black massacres in 2022, it begs the question: What, if anything, did summer 2020 teach us about racism, social justice, and the hope for equality in the U.S.?
Looking Back at Summer 2020
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost 10 minutes. People on the street watched and recorded in horror as Floyd repeated to the officer that he couldn’t breathe. Earlier in the year, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was killed by police officers conducting a botched “no-knock” raid while sleeping in her Louisville apartment. Ahmaud Abery, 25, was killed by white racists as she jogged in a Georgia neighborhood. People were outraged at the collective chaos. Floyd’s murder was the last straw, of sorts, and Americans across the country protested the senseless, unnecessary, and racist attacks for months.
It felt like something was changing as people came together to share information about demonstrations and resources and, for the first time ever spoke out about the racial injustices that the Black community has suffered. Major corporations even joined the conversation and released public statements condemning racism, as well as claiming solidarity to Black Americans. Political correctness was seemingly replaced with unapologetic action—or so we thought. Soon enough, anti-Black racism was overshadowed soon enough by the 2020 election. Many of the passions surrounding basic rights for Black Americans were subdued. But racism and discrimination remained.
One Step Forward, Two steps Back
Since 2020, justice and equality for Black Americans have only improved by 0.2 percent, according to the National Urban League’s 2022 “State of Black America” report. The report is published every year and measures factors such economics, social justice and civic engagement for Black Americans. It also compares with white Americans. There have been increases in the median income and a narrowing the poverty gap for Black Americans. However, there has been a decrease in access to health insurance, increased firearm-related death, and decreased civic engagement that prevented a greater rate of improvement for Black Americans between 2020-2022. Overall, the Urban League found that Black Americans are only 73.9 percent as equal to white Americans.
While the documented improvements in the state of Black America are encouraging, we must first examine the numbers to see that the disparities between Black and White Americans is still severe. Despite increases in the median household income, there is still a 37 per cent difference between Black Americans earning $43,862 and white Americans earning $69,823. Black women are 59% more likely die from childbirth than their white counterparts. Black Americans are four years shorter than white Americans. Black men are 52 percent less likely to succumb to prostate cancer than white men. Black men are three times more likely that they will be arrested.
An area of most concern in the Urban League’s 2022 report is civic engagement. America is under attack on voting rights. Gerrymandering and voter suppression are all common tactics to prevent Black Americans from voting. This is in direct response to the increased voter turnout during 2020 elections. Coming off the heels of the “racial reckoning” summer and several social policy blunders by former president Trump, voter turnout was the highest it’s been since 1980. But when there’s action, there’s also reaction. Because of President Biden’s win, and the subsequent “big lie” maintained by conservative politicians, 19 states passed 34 voter suppression laws in 2021, and more than 152 pieces of restrictive legislation carried over into 2022 for legislative consideration.
Closing The Gap of Systemic Rasism
The injustices faced by Black Americans are real, well-documented, and severe. The National Urban League’s “State of Black America” report is a sobering reality that overcoming systemic racism in America is an agonizingly slow process. Two years later, Black Americans were only 0.2% closer to achieving full equality. Zero. Point. Two. If there is one thing that the summer 2020 taught us, it was to be ready for the backlash. Despite the many strides made by Black Americans, opposition works double-time in order to stifle progress as well as maintain systems of discrimination. Coupled with other political attempts to limit Americans’ rights as a whole, the uphill battle for equality will be that much more difficult for Black Americans.
Fighting collective and racialized battles at the same time is nothing new to Black Americans, and neither is the “one step forward, two steps back” pattern. While it can feel defeating and pointless to continue fighting for trickling equality, it’s a fight that countless people have endured before us and one that must continue no matter how slow the progress. We have many advantages today that racial justice advocates of the past didn’t have, though, and those advantages add to our glimmers of hope. Social media allows for deeper, more transformative discussions, younger millennials, and the Gen Z generation, are more outspoken about racial inequity, American sports and music industry are more vocal about it, societal recognition and Black experiences are more common, financial contributions to racial and civil rights organizations have increased.
One way that we can tell progress is happening is by the intensity of counterattacks against progress, and we’re currently witnessing one of America’s most potent attempts to maintain systemic racism. While it’s frustrating, it also means we’re that much closer to the change that’s been needed for centuries. This isn’t the time to let up or give up. Instead, it’s time for each of us to rise to the occasion like never before by embodying and advocating for liberty and justice for all. The baton has been passed to us, and it’s our turn to run the race for equality.
Source: The Every Girl
