This nagging feeling is a confusing one. It sits between bereavement and astonishment. It engulfs. It depresses. This feeling rears itself as I scroll my Facebook newsfeed and hear the narratives of our clients at HIPS. Statistics are staggering but the autobiographical narratives reveal the dire straits of our people.
Let’s look at our current dilemma:
- Racism is dead, right? Well, let’s not be naïve. Racism – whether overt or covert – is inherent in our everyday lives. If you think the U.S. has moved beyond demonizing, brutalizing, and criminalizing African-Americans based upon their racial classification, let’s recall Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Marissa Alexander and Renisha McBride. These are not ancient examples, mind you. Some of the most recent names include Vonderrit Myers, Eric Garner and Mike Brown.
- Look at mass incarceration. Black men are more than six times as likely as white men to be in prison, according to the Pew Research Center. Take a moment to think about the intended and unintended consequences of this inhumane justice system.
- Look at health disparities from HIV/AIDS, breast and prostate cancer, to practically every disease in the U.S. For one, African-Americans make up 44 percent of all new HIV infections. This problem is not only about transmission but also about access to health resources and stigma. Health is a right, not a privilege, yet these numbers tell a different story.
- Washington, D.C. and many U.S. cities are experiencing an influx of college-educated, gainfully employed residents. Thus, gentrification is in full effect. Cities are changing. Potholes are resealed, condominiums are erected, property values skyrocket, and poor people are displaced. Remember Boyz In The Hood? Moreover, the social services for the poor see their budgets cut and go elsewhere. So while the D.C. Mayor’s Office proudly announces record-high population increases, close to 12,000 people are homeless. Worse yet, affordable housing is not flourishing, leaving thousands of people on a citywide waiting list for years before they can move into a place.
- Where’s immigration reform? With 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., there is still no sense of urgency to tackle comprehensive immigration reform from our trusted public servants in Congress. Meanwhile, deportations are plentiful. And who hangs in the balance? Hardworking, taxpaying Americans – the ones called “illegal aliens.” You mean to tell me racism, mass incarceration, and economic justice do not play roles here?
- Women’s rights are not recognized as human rights. At least, that is how it appears. Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are up for debate every campaign cycle or Supreme Court session. Equal pay seems too difficult to guarantee but sexual assault appears omnipresent. Frankly, if a woman is not guaranteed her human rights, we all suffer an injustice to our communities.
- The same applies to our LGBTQ Family, especially Transgender folks. Kudos to the feds for banning discrimination of transgender and non-gender conforming persons. That’s a great move, yet this does not negate the discrimination faced by so many. The National Center for Transgender Equality’s discrimination survey reports unemployment twice as high as the general public. Furthermore, with a disproportionate number of homeless transgender folks, homeless shelters are ill equipped. Staff members are lacking cultural competency and shelters are not safe spaces for transgender people.
- And as I listen to the most recent album from Pharoahe Monch, I can’t help but to think of how barriers remain endemic in mental health access and drug use treatment.
This feeling still leaves me stewing in frustration while in my quiet loneliness. This feeling also solidifies my determination somehow. Policies and red tape have to be revisited and re-evaluated and removed. My cries must join your cries to be amplified. Yes, none of these aforementioned issues exist within a vacuum. The hearts and minds of our neighbors in our communities have to be touched.
We must move beyond the colorful rhetoric and transform whatever good intentions we have into action. Your struggles are not far-removed from mine. Racism should not have a host, and affordable housing should not sound foreign to city planners. We have to become a community; an inclusive, compassionate community that supports, empowers, and respects one another.
When “i” is replaced with “we”, even illness becomes wellness.” — Malcolm X