The importance of racial equality
Alice Cronin explains how you can educate yourself on the importance of racial equality and the realities of police brutality which currently exist around the globe today.
Most of us know about the death of George Floyd in America. Just to clarify, if you do not know: George Floyd was an American black man who was killed as a result of police brutality on 25 May. This was an absolutely horrific and distressing case and was a hugely tragic death for those close to George Floyd. He was a father to three, a family man and a ‘gentle giant’ as his family describes. The large majority consider this to have been a racially charged killing. This has sparked many protests across the world, including the UK, and has made many people consider their actions and wonder, ‘is the UK innocent?’.
The question is: if George Floyd was white, would the police officer have still knelt on his neck and would he have listened to him when Floyd said ‘I can’t breathe’? The four police officers involved in the attack are facing trial: Derek Chauvin (the man who had his knee on Floyd) on the charge of second degree murder, and the three other officers – Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao – on the charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder. This comes after a series of ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests throughout the USA and the rest of the world, as people have demanded justice for George. Previous to the protests the officers had merely been fired, sparking global outrage and a cry for equality.
Racial inequality in itself means that some people of colour will not get the same opportunities as white people, despite improvements in equality over the last century. It is estimated globally that more than one in five African Americans live in poverty. This is two and a half times more than white people. People who live in poverty or who are homeless have fewer services, poorer educational resources and have limited economic opportunities. However, African Americans often face difficulties when trying to move to pleasant neighbourhoods with better services and education opportunities for their children. A study carried out by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that people of darker complexion are not shown as many properties as people of lighter complexion. They are also offered higher rents and are denied more leases.
Today, African Americans are 6.4 times more likely to go to prison than white people, and this is not always because they are guilty. It is too often that people of colour are incarcerated for other people’s crimes, simply because they ‘look the part’. One particularly tragic and famous example of this would be the Central Park Five – a group of teenagers who were arrested, and manipulated into giving false confessions, for the rape of a white woman and incarcerated for up to fifteen years before the true rapist came forward. (If you wish to learn more about this there is a drama documentary about it on Netflix called, ‘When They See Us’).
The point is, we need to call for equality. We need the fair and equal treatment of everyone, no matter the colour of their skin. So, if you want to help you can find helpful petitions to sign and other resources by typing in ‘#blacklivesmatter’ on many forms of social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook). Also, if you want to better inform yourself on the issue of racial inequality you could read "So You Want to Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander, "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" by Robin DiAngelo.
By Alice Cronin, Year 8
Most of us know about the death of George Floyd in America. Just to clarify, if you do not know: George Floyd was an American black man who was killed as a result of police brutality on 25 May. This was an absolutely horrific and distressing case and was a hugely tragic death for those close to George Floyd. He was a father to three, a family man and a ‘gentle giant’ as his family describes. The large majority consider this to have been a racially charged killing. This has sparked many protests across the world, including the UK, and has made many people consider their actions and wonder, ‘is the UK innocent?’.
The question is: if George Floyd was white, would the police officer have still knelt on his neck and would he have listened to him when Floyd said ‘I can’t breathe’? The four police officers involved in the attack are facing trial: Derek Chauvin (the man who had his knee on Floyd) on the charge of second degree murder, and the three other officers – Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao – on the charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder. This comes after a series of ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests throughout the USA and the rest of the world, as people have demanded justice for George. Previous to the protests the officers had merely been fired, sparking global outrage and a cry for equality.
Racial inequality in itself means that some people of colour will not get the same opportunities as white people, despite improvements in equality over the last century. It is estimated globally that more than one in five African Americans live in poverty. This is two and a half times more than white people. People who live in poverty or who are homeless have fewer services, poorer educational resources and have limited economic opportunities. However, African Americans often face difficulties when trying to move to pleasant neighbourhoods with better services and education opportunities for their children. A study carried out by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that people of darker complexion are not shown as many properties as people of lighter complexion. They are also offered higher rents and are denied more leases.
Today, African Americans are 6.4 times more likely to go to prison than white people, and this is not always because they are guilty. It is too often that people of colour are incarcerated for other people’s crimes, simply because they ‘look the part’. One particularly tragic and famous example of this would be the Central Park Five – a group of teenagers who were arrested, and manipulated into giving false confessions, for the rape of a white woman and incarcerated for up to fifteen years before the true rapist came forward. (If you wish to learn more about this there is a drama documentary about it on Netflix called, ‘When They See Us’).
The point is, we need to call for equality. We need the fair and equal treatment of everyone, no matter the colour of their skin. So, if you want to help you can find helpful petitions to sign and other resources by typing in ‘#blacklivesmatter’ on many forms of social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook). Also, if you want to better inform yourself on the issue of racial inequality you could read "So You Want to Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander, "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" by Robin DiAngelo.
By Alice Cronin, Year 8