Novel THOMASCoronavirus COVID-19 and Racism: Call it a double socially-impacting whammy for Black people…
In her historic vice-presidential nomination acceptance speech the night of Wednesday, August 19, Kamala Harris stated, “There is no vaccine for racism…”
Harris hit the proverbial [political] nail on the head. Racism, by virtue of its multi-ple manifestations as we see and understand it in America has been at the core of that society since the nation’s existence, and continues to impact the first pri-mary imported euphemistic labour force in a most deleterious way multiple gen-erations on.
The Democratic party’s vice-presidential nominee’s speech that night was per-haps a signal of one of the pressing centuries-old unresolved issues that will be front-and-center on her list of ‘things-to-do’ agenda should the Democratic team win the 2020 U.S national election.
Meanwhile, as the election exercise continues to play out, the incumbent Repub-lican duo under the command of cult leader General Donald Trump, a love-hate individual many Americans are still attempting to rap their heads around, despite whatever some poll numbers are indicating. That is if there are any undecideds out there on the electoral landscape still trying to decide which team really has their real political interests at heart.
Sure, “Law and Order” has always been a traditional flag for Republicans to fly, so given current almost tumultuous social conditions pervading sub/urban Amer-ica the cultish leader is evidently stoking and fuelling conditions… with hopes of playing people against one another to generate social chaos. This in the absence of any wise, practical and workable plans to address longstanding and viable so-cially impacting plans to address the always urgent issues of race and racism… in America.
The impact of that perpetually socially-destructive matter on the lives of not just African-Americans but people of other marginalized groups who have been visi-bly involved in the Black Lives Matter uprising coming out of the recurring ques-tionable police shootings of Black people all there for the world to see.
They have always been happening; the difference now is that the world is now akin to a global movie screen for people to watch white American policemen shoot to kill Black people, sometimes in broad daylight as we witnessed with Ja-cob Blake a few weeks ago. Luckily, one of those seven police bullets that struck him that day had eyes, missing a vital organ.
Other victims in recent weeks were not that fortunate or lucky. The police have come to realize that a gun is not the only way to kill Black men and women.
The list of recent victims are only a keyboard tap away. And there are many oth-ers whom we probably never heard of; but social media platforms are forcing po-lice to come clean with the public they once pledged to protect and serve.”
But as they are increasingly exposed for their bad human rights practices, some of them are pushing back. Keep your ears and eye on the TV or your ears to the radio. Tune in to National Public Radio (NPR) and be further informed. It’s unlike commercial radio, but there’s so much more information to access.
Right now we’re seeing things playing out in Black and White in the America. In no small part due to technology: video cams, cellphones, even the police (dash) cam… and multiple social media platforms, all of which are allowing the world to connect literally and visually to witness truth. Call those gadgets a third eye (shedding light on the atrocities Black people have been subjected to for genera-tions. Even police dash and other cameras…
In America “things” that for generations generally happened in the dark are now coming to light: the iconic and unforgettable footage of the pummelling of Rodney King is a priceless image of what police did in the dark.
Call these gadgets a third eye (able to shed light on the police atrocities Black people have been subjected to for generations.
They’re not a panacea or hindrance to police abuse and wanton killings of Black people by any stretch, perhaps a probable deterrent at least.
Meanwhile, it’s going to be a laborious and daunting task for Dr.-Vice president Kamala Harris to do what no other U.S. administration has ever attempted be-fore: genuinely take on the historic and cancerous social issue of racism (in its multiple forms) gnawing at the social fabric of America, especially its centuries-old impact on multiple generations of the slaves…
Four years or less (?) of intensive vice-presidential work, and perhaps an addi-tional four years as president, should afford President Kamala Harris (and her medical/scientific/social experts ample time to produce an efficacious vaccine, especially to assist America’s systemically- and historically- ignored (and still unpaid, no blank cheques issued) builders of the republic.
