“There have been so many indisputable instances of outright criminality — what we feel in our bones to be criminal; what if anyone else did, we would rule as criminal. I think a critical mass of nonblack people have come to see the enforcers of the state in a different kind of way.” – Ta Nehisi Coates, Ezra Klein Show
“The painful irony of the protests and riots is that for a few days everyone was in agreement. We all saw the nine-minute tape. We saw the casual brutality as the dying man begged for mercy and the cop didn’t care. In the past there were arguments about similar incidents. Not this time. Most everyone concedes the problem—that black men are profiled and cannot feel safe in their own country.” – Peggy Noonan, WSJ
I wanted to start with those two statements because I think they say something important about the moment right now. That Ta-Nehisi Coates and Peggy Noonan – culture writers with starkly different worldviews – would describe our current situation in similar ways says a lot. It does feel like this time is different – that there is a critical mass of society who can’t see the George Floyd video as anything other than a murder representative of systemic abuse.
There is also something different about where the discussion is happening. In 2015, when I was working in Baltimore, the Freddie Gray protests were not discussed in the office. This past week, my Fortune 100 CFO hosted a live Q&A, and leaders throughout the company have sent out statements and held discussions in team meetings. The D.C. mayor allowed an entire street to be painted with Black Lives Matter. Even if all those gestures are publicity stunts (I don’t think they are), the support for black communities is still there where it wasn’t before. That is progress, though other moments, like the Parkland shooting in 2018, have felt like the tipping point of their movements, only to fall short.
I am trying to do two things right now. The first is to understand what policy solutions are on the table. Abolishing or defunding the police are valid ideas. Coates argues in The Case for Reparations that “all we are talking about is studying [reparations]. As John Conyers has said, we study everything. We study the water, the air. We can’t even study the issue?” It’s too convenient to dismiss complicated ideas without doing the research to understand them.
The second is to be conscious of what I am reading. Being conscious of reading someone like Coates, sure, but more so being vigilant about law and order arguments masquerading as academic research, like the WSJ’s The Myth of Systemic Police Racism, or as blatant fear-mongering, like Tom Cotton’s NYT op-ed, Send In the Troops. It is easy to think “I disagree with that lunatic Cotton,” but it’s just as easy to think “the data does show unbiased policing.” If you’re being told that the data doesn’t support a cause that millions of people are taking up nationwide, the least you can do is some more research. What are people saying about this that I’m missing?
If you made it this far, then please read some of my new posts this week. I wrote an essay about Brooklyn Bridge Park, typed up some notes on two great books I read over the last few weeks, and wrote a post about writing a great cover letter.
I’m always interested in anyone’s thoughts, on my writing or just about anything, and as always you can email me at [email protected] to get the dialogue started.
– Emmett
Recent Posts:
The Nicest Place In New York– The Disneyland in Brooklyn’s backyard
How to Write a Cover Letter– I break down a successful cover letter
Research Bible: On Writing Well – William Zinsser– The gold standard of non-fiction writing guides
Research Bible: I Don’t Want to Talk About It – Terrence Real– Overcoming the secret legacy of male depression
What I’m Reading:
Letter to My Son– Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
The Case for Reparations– Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
What I’m Listening To:
Why Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Hopeful – Ezra Klein Show