By WISDOM*
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
—W.B. Yeats, “The Second Coming”
The murder of George Floyd has made a difficult time into a terrible time. We were all sickened to witness the self-confident manner with which a police officer executed Mr. Floyd, and by the fact that his three colleagues were more concerned with controlling bystanders than with preventing a homicide. Today I wish to make an appeal to WISDOM members who are, like me, white.
Please, never, ever say “I am not a racist.” Racism has been deeply embedded in our land for 400 years. None of us has lived in a bubble. Racism is not a problem that belongs to people of color: it is OUR problem. We need to be part of the solution. We don’t have to be in charge of the solution (really, the world would be just fine without us being in charge of a lot of things), but we can’t sit it out, either.
Our decision is whether we will be actively involved in anti-racist work, or whether we will be part of the problem. Racism is not one problem among many. It lurks at the heart of every oppression in our state and in our country.
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*WISDOM is a statewide network, comprised mainly of faith-based organizations.
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