Over the last few days I’ve been talking with a number of really bright friends, posing this question: How much of a role has the allopatric pandemic played in raising the worldwide protests and condemnations over the death of George Floyd to astronomical, unheard-of levels? Would there be as many people in the streets of cities around the globe standing up for American blacks if there were no coronavirus that caused months and months of social disruption and quarantine?
The reason I pose this question is because, as a child of the ’60s, I — along with millions of other people — thought that we were on the verge of ridding the country of racism by marching and protesting all over the South, and in some cases, the North. However, we were deluding ourselves back then, and I simply don’t want to get fooled again. Will the care and concern of well-meaning whites dissipate once the threat of the pandemic has passed, or will they stay committed to change?
Make no mistake: If whites of good conscience don’t stay engaged, don’t stay the course, all of the upheaval we are currently witnessing will amount to absolutely nothing. The simple fact is, we blacks don’t have enough political power to change America If we possessed such power, the wanton killings of black men would have ceased years and years ago. And we would have repaired the torn social safety net while we were at it.
For years I’ve attended conference after conference where social and criminal justice issues were the topic of the gathering, and representatives from virtually every concerned demographic — from mental health care, to addiction, to employment, to the high rate of infant deaths in the black community — all complain about not having enough money to adequately carry out their mission — all except one: Law enforcement. The cops never complain about a lack of funds.
This should tell us something, as well as point us in the right direction; if we are sincere about bringing racist, rogue cops to heel, then we have to starve the beast. The only way municipalities will rein in their bad cops is if laws are passed that financially and criminally punish everyone in the chain of command that is responsible when a killing occurs. Everyone.
Now is the time. I sincerely believe that we now have a real opportunity to create change. But opportunity is like a door, it opens and closes. It’s wide open right now, but as a society we have to go through it or mark my words, it will soon close again.
One Response to “MANSFIELD: A Question for the Ages”
Bill Rucki
Hi Mr. Frazier. It is far more than just the pandemic. We have so many social problems that are now surfacing because of Mr. Floyds murder. Wealth disparity is at an all-time high due to the Fed’s intervention to make the wealthy whole at the expense of the other 95%. Lack of decent paying jobs, unaffordable health care, college loan racket, unreported inflation, militarized police, zero interest rates, stagnant wages, no accountability and mega bailouts for Wallstreet, just to name a few. It’s all coming to a head now.