Hard Truths
This post is a little delayed, because I needed a little time to figure out what to say.
In this blog, on this website, we’re talking about Beauty and Truth. And right now, in the U.S., we are confronting—again—some very hard truths about how unconscionably our black brethren are treated in this country.
Murdered for no reason.
Beaten and threatened for no reason.
Treated with suspicion for no reason.
Denied access to everything from education to polling sites for no reason.
(No reason other than the color of their skin, of course.)
Further, as a white woman, I don’t think I should be saying much of anything right now. I should be making space for black voices and their truths. But silence is also not an option—too often white Americans have stayed silent and, therefore, safe. A safety that blacks in our country have simply never had.
Talk about privilege.
So, rather than go on, what I am going to do is share two posts.
The first is a WBEZ article by Aaron Allen: “How The Green Line, A Pink House And 12 Cents Changed How I See My City”
He’s put together a really extraordinary piece examining the truth that standard bank lending practices:
HUGELY favor white Chicago neighborhoods; and
Make it almost impossible for the Black and Hispanic neighborhoods of Chicago to grow and prosper.
You will enjoy the gorgeous storytelling, even if the content makes you angry (and it should).
The second is a piece just published by Willow Research (where I work, full disclosure): “Racial Inequality in America: A Look at the Numbers”
I’m offering it to you, because it lays out—in stark detail—data that irrefutably shows just how differently Blacks and whites are treated in our country and, further, provides survey data on the deep disparities in how Blacks and whites view racial inequities.
Having that quantitative data all in one place is…it hurts.
It hurts, because it’s True, but it is far from Beautiful.
As we go through this crisis, I wish you clarity and Truth.
I wish you moments of stunning Beauty, even in the midst of such profound pain and righteous anger.
I wish you safety, and sanity, and justice.
And most of all, for ALL of us to do whatever we can, whatever is necessary to make sure that black lives matter in the United States.