November 2021 Blog: “Backsliding Moderation?”
I feel it tugging on me; that seductive slide back towards “moderation” regarding racial justice. The wave of indignation over the killing of George Floyd has receded with time, broken by the shoreline of protest-fatigue. “Defund the Police,” blamed for recent Republican political gains, is rejected by President Biden and most middle-of-the-road politicians. Ignorance about Critical Race Theory has been weaponized against historical honesty.
My own weariness over the struggle weighs on me, and I can retreat into a sunken place that does not threaten my life. Now that’s white privilege. This backsliding moderation on the part of white liberals can be deadly for many Black Americans because it allows deadly racially-biased policies and traditions to continue. As Martin Luther King Jr. made clear from behind the bars of the Birmingham jail, he reached the “regrettable conclusion” that the white moderate is a greater threat to Black people than outright white supremacists. After all, blatant bigotry often motivates moderates to work for racial justice. White moderation often props up a deadly status quo.
Unfortunately, the majority of voters are choosing the status quo. On November 2nd in Minneapolis, for example, 56% of voters rejected replacing the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety which would have begun a revolutionary rethinking of public safety. Minneapolis Mayor Frey, Minnesota Governor Walz, and Senator Amy Klobuchar all opposed the amendment.
Fear over a rise in violent crime in Minneapolis contributed the initiative’s defeat. A near doubling of homicides - 79 so far in 2021 – triggered a preference for violence at the heart of traditional criminal justice systems. It distracts us from the root causes of crime – poverty and desperation, two plagues that have impacted poor communities of color during our pandemic crisis.
The gubernatorial election in Virginia demonstrates how straw men can whip up fear just as effectively as spikes in crime. Though an anti-Biden backlash may have been more influential, “Critical Race Theory” was the tactical bogeyman of choice in the Virginia campaign. Governor-elect Younkin’s pledge to “ban Critical Race Theory from day one” drew roars of support.
Obviously, Critical Race Theory is not a threat and is not being taught in Virginia public schools. But when a state’s flag proclaims “Sic Semper Tyrannis” (“Thus Always to Tyrants”), might these perceived threats to liberty be excuses for racism? Perhaps it is overreach to bring up John Wilkes Booth who, after killing President Lincoln, screamed “Sic Semper Tyrannis! The South is avenged!” But is it unreasonable to assert that history is repeating itself when false liberty is again eclipsing the reform necessary to protect historically marginalized communities of color? If so many voters thought progressives “went too far,” are moderates once again, in King’s words, choosing “a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice?”
FURTHER ACTION:
1) Share a Brookings Institute Report that spotlights how Younkin used myths surrounding “critical race theory” to win the Virginia gubernatorial race.
2) Be on the lookout for how “law and order” is used even in progressive communities, like New York City, where former police captain Democrat Eric Adams became mayor in part due to his rejection of radical rethinking of our approach to policing. As he emphasized, “The prerequisite for prosperity is public safety.”
3) Study why more people voted “no” to Question 2 in Minneapolis, so that future efforts to reform the police will not suffer a similar fate. See this Buisness Insider article.
4) Consider buying some new books just out, The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones , and her accompanying children's book, The 1619 Project: Born on the Water.
5) Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s whole letter “From Birmingham Jail" and discuss it with others. You can also see the letter from “moderate” clergy that prompted King’s reply via this link: Wayback Machine (archive.org))