The death of George Floyd in police custody last week, and the ensuing outrage that has been expressed in communities around the country—including here in Rochester this past weekend–demand that we redouble our commitment to addressing long standing structural inequalities in Rochester and beyond. For 15 years, the work of the Rochester Center for Community Leadership has connected students, faculty, and community partners to confront these stark realities and to dismantle the structures that perpetuate existing racial power dynamics. Black lives matter: every black life lost represents unrealized possibilities. The current crisis calls for us to think anew about how we undertake this work. We advocate to redress injustice through informed, nonviolent, civic action—and that mission is needed urgently now, not just in word but in deed.
Our approach to our work is grounded in the belief that community engagement needs to be informed by community-identified needs. We must be respectful of the knowledge of the black community and responsive to its needs. If you have ideas of suggestions about how we might best direct our efforts and resources at this time, please let us know.
We also believe that we must start by ensuring that we have done our homework to understand the history and context behind the current manifestation of this crisis. Toward that end, here is a short list of tips and resources that our team has compiled. We don’t pretend that this is comprehensive–if you have additional suggestions, we’d love to hear them.
- Do the work. This means honest introspection and navigating discomfort with racism, including our own unconscious biases and our relationship with structural racism.
- Read up. Here are a few titles to get you started:
- How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi (2019)
- Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
- Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson (2015); directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (2019)
- Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Joy DeGruy (2005)
- The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein (2017)
- The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas (2017); directed by George Tillman (2018)
- The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander (2012)
- 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay (2016)
- Do the Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee (1989)
- July ‘64, directed by Carvin Eison (2004)
- Listen up.
- White friends, don’t make this about you. Listen to the stories, challenges, and strengths of people of color. Use your voice to amplify, not to cover up with your own story.
- Learn about the work being done in Rochester. Some Rochester voices include:
- Show up. Participate in meetings and events with a spirit of cultural humility, deferring to indigenous knowledge and leadership. Come to listen and learn rather than speak. If meetings or events are in person, practice recommended practices for the pandemic, including physical distancing and wearing a mask: epidemiological data show that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting people of color.
- Pay up. If your means allow, support organizations that are taking action to dismantle the structures that continue to concentrate poverty in marginalized communities.
- Breathe. Practice self care so that you can make this a long-term strategy. While the need is urgent, the structures that oppress people of color have been built over centuries and require sustained effort to reform.