Letters: National commission needed on impacts of slavery, Jim Crow; Stand up for change

National commission needed on impacts of slavery, Jim Crow

The last week and a half has shown us many things, the combination of disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the African American community, the outrageous death of George Floyd (among dozens of others) who was killed before our very eyes, and 400 years of systemic oppression of Africans and later African Americans in the form of great disadvantage in our society in education, housing and most importantly economic opportunity.

We need to form a national commission to investigate the impacts of slavery and Jim Crow. We have done this with Japanese-Americans after we wrongfully interned them during World War II. We can do it again but the political pressure to do so will only come from a sustained movement on par with the civil rights movement of the 1960s. White Americans who continue to deny a problem exists in the first place must come forward in good conscience and support this type of effort. From these discoveries and effort much information will flow about the exact changes that need to take place so that we finally, once and for all, live up to our national ideals of equality and justice for all.

Stand up for change

We stand. Against systemic racism that permeates our country. Against violence directed toward our fellow Americans. Against purposeful agitation that fuels conflict and destroys our common bonds.

We mourn the violent deaths of George Floyd and the countless other people of color who have been unjustly killed because of the color of their skin.

How can we move forward?

Listen to each other. We have not learned from history. The horror of these incidents tells us we must start today. Communities like ours should hold listening forums with thoughtful and deliberate inclusion of participants.

Educate ourselves to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity, history, and depth of racism and the institutions that have unknowingly and knowingly helped sustain racism in our country. Knowledge — accurate and unbiased — is key to understanding the forces that have brought us to this moment.

Act by creating change and voting for leaders who will move us forward. Our community benefits from a major research university with vast outreach capabilities. We are in a better position than many communities across the nation as a result.

Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter has been left without a father. Will she grow up constantly looking over her shoulder? AAUW State College stands for equity for women and children. We will partner with community organizations to stand up and advance an agenda for change.

Let’s stand together.

The right to peaceful protest

The recent protest in State College over George Floyd’s murder was peaceful due to coordination between the organizers and the State College Police Department. Protesters and officers deserve our appreciation for avoiding the violence that has erupted in other communities including Washington, D.C., where law enforcement cleared a path for the president through a non-violent crowd using tear gas and rubber bullets.

President Trump has his “Reichstag fire,” which he blamed on antifa. But don’t forget that Dylan Roof murdered nine people at prayer in an explicit attempt to start a race war. Nor that Ammon Bundy and his armed gang stole and destroyed property during their occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Why is it that Randy Weaver and the Ruby Ridge siege is a cause célébre for some but not the abuse of power witnessed in Floyd and similar cases? Maybe for the same reason that the Kent State Massacre, the 50th anniversary of which we just observed on May 4, attracted much more attention than the Jackson State killings.

What are people to do when forbidden to protest peacefully by kneeling during the “Star-Spangled Banner”? This is the question I am wrestling with, for while I do not condone violence, I do hear the words of Thomas Jefferson, “when a long train of abuses ... evinces a design to reduce (people) under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”