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James Baldwin famously said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” As a Black man in America who has been called the N-word before, I am enraged, emotionally exhausted and saddened with the ongoing attacks on Black bodies.
When I first saw the video footage of officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd’s neck, as George repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe, my heart stopped and an immediate sense of sadness came over me as tears began to roll down my face. That video made me think about Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, Sandra Bland, Sean Bell and the countless other Black bodies that were unfortunately lost due to racist violence.
In the past couple of weeks since the death of George Floyd, so many friends have expressed how helpless they feel and asked me what they can do to help. My answer was very straight forward: Make sure you vote, and bring someone along so they can also vote!
As the former Head of Press Advance on Tom Steyer’s presidential campaign, I traveled with Tom to Selma, Alabama, in early March, where we joined over 15,000 people to commemorate “Bloody Sunday,” the event in Selma that ultimately galvanized public opinion and mobilized Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, which President Johnson signed into law on August 6, 1965. I was so inspired from seeing so many young people register to vote for the first time and then participate in the march over the historic Edmund Pettus bridge. I was witnessing the collective action that thousands of people saw power in their vote and understood the significance of having the right to vote.
According to Pew Research Center, one in 10 eligible voters will be members of Generation Z, the Americans who will be between the ages 18 and 23 by November. Combine millennials and Gen Z together and they makeup 37% of eligible voters this year. This is why I implore everyone outraged at the current events in our country to mobilize our communities, register to vote and turn out the vote in November.
Yes, vote your choice for President, but don’t stop there. Research the down ballot candidates and vote for progressive district attorneys. District attorneys are the most powerful players in the criminal justice system, but most people don’t know who they are or what they do. Similarly to other candidates for public office, like the mayor and those running for congress, district attorneys are elected officials and need votes to take office. Once in office, they usually decide what charges to bring forth against those perceived to be breaking the law, therefore they have an obligation to fight for justice and ultimately make crucial decisions that affect Black people.
While much has changed over the last 50 years since the civil rights movement, some things haven’t. Black people are still subjected to the worst injustices in the United States, ranging from stop and frisk tactics to unjust sentencing to police violence that often leads to death — like that in the case of George Floyd, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and countless others. It is imperative for Black constituents to know if their local prosecutor engages in unjust and racist practices that could affect them, their family and friends.
Black people and our allies need to target local prosecutors across the country to change practices in their local jurisdiction and criminal justice system that negatively affect Black people at disproportionate rates. This includes holding abusive police officers accountable for flagrant killings. Taking our rage and focusing on these local jurisdictions can help frame national issues by building criminal justice work and police-community relations from the ground up.
Local prosecutors need to be held accountable for their actions as it relates to unjust, unconstitutional, destructive and racist practices. Every time we hold prosecutors accountable, we are transforming our justice system and helping to end racist practices that disproportionately affect Black people.
2020 is a pivotal time in our country and the world is watching how we as a country respond to the pervasive racism that runs rampant in our judicial system and other systems alike.
