I recently did a workshop with a group that’s working to remind people that racism still exists in America and must be actively fought. They pointed out that many people have, in a sense, declared victory on race — after all, haven’t the racist elements of the law been expunged? Haven’t most of the overtly cruel acts of racism stopped? Don’t we have a frontrunner for President who is black? Yes to all, but as this group pointed out, that’s not equivalent to the end of racism.
Let’s face it, this is a tough issue to get people to confront. It’s a touchy subject. Most people walk into the discussion with pre-formed strong feelings, one way or the other. So how do you get the message across, to a resistant audience, that “We’re not done yet”?
Take a look at a video called “A Girl Like Me,” directed by Kiri Davis, that provides an unforgettable reminder that racism isn’t dead. This is the most moving piece of communication I’ve seen this year. (Unfortunately, the mind-blowing bit is buried in the middle of the video. My advice is to fast-forward to the 3:20 mark and watch for about 1.5-2 min.) As you’ll see, we’re not done yet.
