We need to elect more Black people. White people need to stand behind, campaign for, vote for, and help elect Black people.
It is time for them to lead because we’ve royally screwed everything up. It is time for things to change no matter what white people think they’ll have to sacrifice. It is time for white Americans to follow without demanding credit and give with no regard for our own agenda.
I’m a white woman from a white suburb who went to white schools and benefits from white privilege. I’ve been through some stuff, but I’m pretty secure in my middle classness. And I’ll admit that I do feel a twinge of something that feels like fear at the thought of living in a country run by people who don’t look like me, don’t have the same experience as me, and don’t understand my life. Boo-hoo for me. It is time for things to change no matter how uncomfortable that makes white people, including me.
I was nine years old in 1977 when I was in the car with my father and he began ranting at an AM talk radio show that was discussing reparations for Black Americans. “If they don’t like it they should go back to where they came from,” he muttered between clenched teeth.
“But they’re Americans just like us.” I barely got the words out before the back of his hand was raised as a threat, his face became red, and he turned to me and yelled, “HEY!” He was never a man of many words. We were about a half mile from home. He pulled over and told me to get out and walk. He was disgusted with me. Again. It was time for me to be punished. It would be days before he would talk to me or acknowledge my presence. And weeks before our interactions included anything but sarcasm, shaming, and jokes at my expense intended to take me down a peg. That was one of his favorite things to say to me. “Who do you think you are? Someone needs to take you down a peg or two.”
The fact that my family are casual racists was really the least of my problems growing up. But it was always there. And I never understood why they were so angry. But holy cow, they were ANGRY. Angry at Black people, immigrants, gay people, hippies, welfare recipients, and me. From the time I was old enough to form memories, they made it very clear that I, along with all of those other deplorables, was to blame for their problems.
And here we are 43 years later. Nothing has changed. Not in my family and not in America.
What if instead, at that moment 43 years ago, listening to that radio talk show, White Americans had stood up and said, “ enough already”?
What if?
- Universal healthcare became the law of the land.
- Gerrymandering was outlawed and new voting districts were created by Black-led committees.
- School districts were redrawn by Black-led coalitions, were funded equitably across the board, and black families still suffering great disadvantages due to generations of disparity in wealth and access, were granted additional federal funding for equipment, tutors, and educational programs.
- Local police forces were dismantled and service-focused organizations led by the communities they served, replaced them.
- All Black Americans started to receive free college educations.
- A minimum wage that allows people to live and raise families with dignity, fair sick leave rules, equitable shift scheduling and vacation time policies, and safe workplaces became the law across the land.
- Corporations were required to pay their fair share of taxes.
- Corporations were required to be economically responsible for the environmental impact of their products and services.
- Billionaires and millionaires began paying a progressive income tax and the tax system was made equitable and easy to understand.
- The food system was fixed so fresh, healthy food was affordable and available to everyone.
- National school history curricula were subject to review by Black-led panels.
- Black people had an equal voice in government from city councils to the senate.
Why can’t we agree on those things? Those are all good things, aren’t they?Wouldn’t they ultimately make everyone’s lives better?
It is well past time to make those things happen. And white people have proven that we can’t get the job done. We’ve failed over and over again. So it is time to step back. It is time for us to follow. It is time for our reign of power to end. It is time for someone else to fix this mess we’ve created because we’re clearly incapable. If we won’t relinquish power and admit our utter fecklessness, it is time for Black Americans to take the power from us.
I did a bunch of Google searches this morning to try to learn about organizations supporting black candidates. And I was really disappointed. My first search was autocorrected to be “organizations working to elect black poems.” In subsequent searches I found only a few organizations. And I’m not sure of their provenance. The one that stood out is a PAC called The Collective. Maybe I didn’t find any grass-roots or community-based organizations because Google’s algorithm makes those organizations almost invisible because they don’t already have high volumes of search traffic. Google categorizes sites with low search traffic as irrelevant. Or maybe, as a white person with a white perspective and a white experience I’m just too wrapped up in my own perspective to figure out how to find them. I found a few organizations working to support Black voters. Far more prominent in my search results were organizations supporting women candidates, disabled candidates, and Native American candidates. Those are all good things. But I can’t help but wonder if my search results are a sign of another problem white people have created. We’ve championed the Black and brown voter as we campaign around town in our “savior suits”, and supported their efforts so they can help elect white liberal candidates. While doing that, we’ve given little or no thought to electing Black candidates.
As I get ready to hit “publish” I have another twinge of fear. Maybe I’ll be called “Karen”. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut. Maybe this is all just white privilege bullshit. I don’t know for sure. My decision-making apparatus doesn’t always function well. I do know that I woke up this morning feeling angry. That anger quickly turned inward and started me down a path of self-hatred. And for me, unchecked self-hatred leads to self-destruction on a lethal level. So I prayed to whatever higher power is out there to please help me. I prayed for god, or my higher self, or whatever out there has more power than me to relieve me of my anger or to show me what to do with it — to save me from it. This essay is what resulted from those prayers.
