This article focuses mainly on the following UN Sustainable Development Goal:
Let’s talk about being black.
It’s hard for you to imagine right? Not everyone was born under the pretence of dark melanin skin, toned by the harshness of the sun. Fortunately, I have the pleasure of being black. I don’t think I have to tell you what that’s like.
Turn on the news, and you can see what it’s like to be black. In the US the rate of fatal police shootings for black people is 31 per million of the population between June 2015 and June 2020. Yes, 31 per million. Whereas for white people, it is 13 per million (Department). Moreover, for most of you, it was only recently that you heard their names.
Ahmaud Arbery, killed for taking a jog; Breonna Taylor for sitting in her own room; Eric Garner; Michael Brown; Trayvon Martin. And there’s more (Maqbool). There is, even more, we don’t know about. That’s the reality for black people. That’s what it’s like being black. It’s discrimination, segregation, disadvantages all rolled into one, because of your race. When we aren’t talking about BLM (Black Lives Matter), which should be a priority under circumstances like these, Asian minorities are constantly being degraded under the stereotypes that sort them as “model minorities” which not only undermines them but causes more conflict between minorities (Chow, Kat). Indigenous people have lost the rights to their land due to colonization, but still don’t receive the same benefits as the people inhabiting their land (for one, in the US Native American’s don’t receive stimulus checks (for corona reparations) despite being citizens (Walker, Mark). There are other groups of minorities that are also constantly being treated differently because of their race. That’s where it stems from. Race.
When I say the word, inequality, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Of course, it's a race. Unbeknownst to some, race fuels everything in our world. It has been so economically, socially, politically influential into our world’s systems that it’s normalized when minorities receive anything at a lower quality. Whereas, the white counterparts in this world seem to enjoy the benefits of their privilege.
But what can we do?
None of us have a choice with the skin that we have. None of us have a choice with the economic situations we are born in. With our innate differences, there’s not much we can do about the position we find ourselves. But you know what we can do? We can do something about treating others.
The UN is a founder when it comes to ideals like that. The 16 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are a set of humanitarian-based goals that the UN has established to establish economic, and social parts of sustainable development. Let’s take a closer look at number 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries. To quote the UN itself, these goals aim at “reducing inequalities in income as well as those based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or another status within a country. The Goal also addresses inequalities among countries, including those related to representation, migration, and development assistance.”
That’s a lot.
You probably don’t think that this relates to you. You are probably thinking that it’s the country, or the government, that has control over inequality. That it’s their job to fix it. Well, you’re right. It is their job, but inequality is different. Inequality can’t be addressed through the government alone; it is a social problem.
I’ll give you an example: In 1934, the United States had issued a practice called “red-Lining” (Jan, Tracy “Analysis”). Red-lining was a part of a tremendously large group of racial segregation laws where commonly used services were accessible to people based, solely, on their ethnicities. The name itself denotes the fact that loners were able to draw red lines around the communities where they would not invest resources (specifically around ethnic minorities) (Kenton, Will). Systematically, ethnic minorities faced denials in financial services, mortgages, and loans. Eventually, being the unethical, discriminatory, and disgraceful practice that it was, all red-lining practices were banned in 1977.
But did the fact that the practice was banned actually change the practice?
No.
The inequality was already set. Today, white communities have almost 10 times the net worth of black communities. 10 times (Jan, Tracy “White”). Now, socially ethnic minorities have been put at a disadvantage, despite having a governmental change to legally ban a practice. The only reason why action seems so effective is because it’s the citizens that are pushing the agenda. The minorities that are speaking out to end these practices.
It’s up to the people to withhold that standard.
So, what can we do? What can we do as a citizen, as a friend, as a fellow black person, as another minority? Let’s start with the US, because as of now I can say there is a beacon of light that shines on the atrocious being committed in the US.
In the US, largely, the plan is to defund the police.
The fuel firing the Black Lives Matter movement is that police brutality is costing the lives of other black African-American people. The police are funded by an annual, fiscal budget that the government provides. In 2019, the NYPD (New York Police Department) had a budget of 6 billion dollars (Koeze, Ella). Cutting their budget would redirect funds from the police into other government branches funded by the locals (respective to different communities). Along with that, the ‘important’ funds that police departments desperately need to use can be used to solve other racing issues such as helping the homeless or reducing drug addiction and other mental health issues (Ray, Rashawn).
If this takes place, keep in mind that it’s not the end. Defunding the police, only takes part in the US. The foundation of the BLM isn’t just police brutality, it’s that black people aren’t the same. Black people, for hundreds of years, were regarded as lower than their white counterparts, solely, due to their skin color. So, to end racism, discrimination, and years of pain caused to these minorities: educate yourself and learn from the books, news, and the people around you, in order for you to understand what it’s like being a minority. For you to empathize.
Even more use what is given to us, against the governments and institutions that oppress us. Not just us black people, but all minorities as well. If it’s freedom of speech in the (U.S Constitution) which gives citizens the right to peacefully protest and petition the government then we should be speaking out about it, then that’s what we should do. If it’s hate crimes against any minority like the 800 reported by Asian-Americas due to stereotypes related to the coronavirus (Lin, Stephinie), then we should be helping them locate resources to secure their safety. If it's anti-discrimination laws in the EU, that prevent “discrimination on the ground of sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or another status” (Anti-Discrimination) then speak up when these laws are being violated. If it’s xenophobia like the xenophobia African-Americans faced in Guangzhou China, for “being related” to the coronavirus then help minorities to bring more attention to discrimination in Asia (Fifield, Anna). If it’s addressing cultural appropriation of Asian culture (south Asian culture), black cultures, indigenous culture then let it be addressed.
Do what you can, so that my brothers and sisters and friends can be equal. So do what you can to help that the world will give everyone the same chance and similar opportunities. So do what you can that we can be the systemic change to systemic injustice.
Remember, change starts with you.
External Resources
If you want a place to start there are links for petitions and more articles listed below:
Justice for Breonna Taylor https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor?source_location=topic_page
Justice for Charleena Lyles
Justice for Brayla Stone
Defund the Police
STOP AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) Hate
Articles about discrimination (against multiples minorities in multiple countries)
Works Cited
“Anti-Discrimination Law.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 June 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-discrimination_law#:~:text=European Union,-The European Union&text=Thus, article 14 of the,property, birth or other status.
Chow, Kat. “'Model Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks.” NPR, NPR, 19 Apr. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/19/524571669/model-minority-myth-again-used-as-a-racial-wedge-between-asians-and-blacks.
Department, Published by Statista Research, and Jul 1. “Police Shootings: Rate by Ethnicity U.S. 2015-2020.” Statista, 1 July 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/1123070/police-shootings-rate-ethnicity-us/.
Fifield, Anna. “Africans in China Allege Racism as Fear of New Virus Cases Unleashes Xenophobia.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Apr. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/africans-in-china-allege-racism-as-fear-of-new-virus-cases-unleashes-xenophobia/2020/04/13/7f606cd8-7d26-11ea-84c2-0792d8591911_story.html.
Jan, Tracy. “Analysis | Redlining Was Banned 50 Years Ago. It's Still Hurting Minorities Today.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Mar. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/.
Jan, Tracy. “White Families Have Nearly 10 Times the Net Worth of Black Families. And the Gap Is Growing.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Sept. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/28/black-and-hispanic-families-are-making-more-money-but-they-still-lag-far-behind-whites.
Kenton, Will. “Redlining.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 29 Jan. 2020, www.investopedia.com/terms/r/redlining.asp.
Koeze, Ella, and Denise Lu. “The N.Y.P.D. Spends $6 Billion a Year. Proposals to Defund It Want to Cut $1 Billion.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/20/nyregion/defund-police-nypd-budget.html.
Lin, Stephanie. “800 Asian American Hate Crimes Reported in CA since COVID-19 Outbreak.” KCRA, KCRA, 11 July 2020, www.kcra.com/article/800-asian-american-hate-crimes-reported-in-ca-since-covid-19-outbreak/33281363#.
Maqbool, Aleem. “Black Lives Matter: From Social Media Post to Global Movement.” BBC News, BBC, 10 July 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53273381.
Ray, Rashawn. “What Does 'Defund the Police' Mean and Does It Have Merit?” Brookings, Brookings, 19 June 2020, www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/06/19/what-does-defund-the-police-mean-and-does-it-have-merit/.
“U.S. Constitution - First Amendment: Resources: Constitution Annotated: Congress.gov: Library of Congress.” Constitution Annotated, constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/#:~:text=Congress shall make no law,for a redress of grievances.
Walker, Mark, and Emily Cochrane. “Native American Tribes Sue Treasury Over Stimulus Aid as They Feud Over Funding.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/us/politics/coronavirus-native-american-tribes-treasury-stimulus.html.
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