The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has been wrenching this country from the comfortable place white Americans have sat in for too long; a place of systematic racism.
The movement is bringing awareness to the oppression of People of Color (POC) through just about every way imaginable. Protests are scattered across the nation, murals are springing up in cities, Black-owned businesses are gaining more support, petitions are being signed by millions and ways to educate ourselves and others on racism have surfaced.
Legislators, police departments and many others in positions of power have voiced support of the movement. Justice was brought to the murderers of George Floyd and is being actively sought after the shooting and paralyzing of Jacob Blake.
Earlier this month, the Seattle City Council revealed a plan to begin defunding its police departments, reducing them by as many as 100 officers, according to an Aug. 3 article from The Seattle Times.
Granted, this was only after a series of violent protests and the rise and fall of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP). Even resorting to violence and seclusion for the sake of BLM has not brought the change that needs to happen nationwide.
Moscow has hosted at least five BLM protests over the past few months. While none of them have gotten out of hand, neither the city or the Moscow Police Department (MPD) have made any major moves in support of the movement. This movement, it seems, was left to the University of Idaho.
UI has hosted a speaker series featuring prominent POC, released statements showing its support of the movement, encouraged self-education by reading works of Black authors and added the speaker series to the curriculum as optional one-credit courses.
But that’s not enough.
We need education that is worth more than one measly credit. We need more than just encouragement to educate ourselves on the experiences of Black people, Native Americans, Asian people and other minority groups.
We need more than reading, watching and listening to the productions of POC to educate ourselves. We need more than just sharing their experiences and making people aware.
The Pullman City Council approved the creation of a BLM mural on Aug. 11 and the Moscow Anti-Racism Alliance released details on a similar proposal to The Argonaut on Aug. 18.
But murals are not enough either. We need more changes on city, county, state and national levels showing support for true equality between POC and white people. Legislative changes toward equality need to be considered and approved everywhere.
Still, that’s not enough. Police need better training, like courses which will teach them how to diffuse situations like riots rather than escalate them. Armed forces, who are meant to preserve peace and protect the people, have only succeeded in amplifying the anger felt throughout the country.
On top of that, a better allocation of funds is even more important. This type of legislative change needs to be made the most. More money needs to go to public schools, businesses and residential areas. No more 20-year-old textbooks in Black-majority schools. No more dilapidated apartments that are much too small in Black-majority communities.
Along with these changes, transparency is needed from the people making decisions. This transparency needs to be present as decisions are being made, not after the fact. We don’t want to hear that things are being discussed. We want to know what is being talked about, what changes are being considered and exactly how the changes would affect our communities.
This is not going away. We, as a country and as a community, need to conquer this centuries-long seat of ignorant comfort for the sake of POC. We need to face this issue head on for the sake of ALL the nation’s people.
– Editorial Board