Black History Month: Race In America & How We Can Do Our Part (As Non-Black Allies)

By Aries Ramirez-Blantz, Written in 2020

In February, people across America honor and celebrate the vast accomplishments and contributions Black Americans have made as we continue our fight towards equality. Along with reflecting on the current state of racism, learning about Black history is essential to making this a better place for everyone – not just White and non-Black people.

It is critical that we continue to recognize the many accomplishments of Black people all year round, and not just during Black History Month. We must integrate Black history into our tellings of history as a constant and critical piece of our nation’s story.

The impact of Black Americans can be seen everywhere, even within our church. Many of the first Methodists in America were African-American, and Black preachers Harry Hosier and Richard Allen were at the Methodist church’s formal establishment in 1784.

During the Civil Rights Era, we saw Methodist pastors Rev. Joseph Lowery and Rev. James Lawson become key figures in the fight for equality.

Rev. Joseph Lowery helped coordinate several acts of resistance against racism, including the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, which aimed to desegregate public transportation. Learn more about the life and incredible work of Rev. Joseph Lowery in this article from NPR after his passing in 2020.

Rev. James Lawson was involved in training many future leaders of the civil rights movement through his non-violence training workshops, such as James Bevel, Diane Nash, John Lewis, Bernard Lafayette, and Marion Barry. He is an influential and critical figure in the history of Nashville’s sit-in protests, becoming the model for organizing sit-ins successfully. Learn about the life and work Rev. James Lawson has done and continues to do in this biography from BlackPast.org.

We have seen racial tensions grow more significant during this pandemic following the murders of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, and, unfortunately, many more by police officers. In the first eight months of 2020 alone, we saw more than 164 African-Americans murdered by police officers. Although we have seen progress, it’s essential to acknowledge that more work still needs to be done to offer equality for all.

Although this problem is nationwide, we can support local communities to impact those around us directly. Our Book of Resolutions tells us that it isn’t enough not to be racist, but that we need to as much as we can to be anti-racist through our actions and education on how racism systemically affects Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. It encourages us to learn more about white privilege and fight for equality with intention, something we should all be moving towards.

A critical step is to educate ourselves on the issues at hand. The most vital issues we need to combat are the school-to-prison pipeline, police brutality, and the racial wealth gap. These issues are usually systemic, meaning that they come from institutions' procedures and policies, which disadvantage people of specific backgrounds.

The school-to-prison pipeline is a system in which, instead of receiving appropriate resources and assistance, racial minorities and disabled students are pushed through funnels, leading to imprisonment. For example, Black students are 3.5 times more likely to be suspended from school than their White counterparts. Suspension rates amongst Black youth caused by zero-tolerance policies become even more striking when we learn that repeated suspension is one of the most significant predictors of drop-outs, leaving them more susceptible to engaging in criminal activity.

Another issue that goes hand in hand with the school-to-prison pipeline is police brutality. Black and Hispanic students make up more than 70% of in-school arrests, usually for nothing more than being “disruptive.”

We’ve seen police brutality against Black people span from harassment, arresting 6-year-old girls in school, killing 12-year-old Tamir Rice, and the murders of countless innocent adults. We must take an active stand against these atrocities by standing in solidarity with the Black community, participating in or supporting protests, and pushing policies that push for accountability and change in policing.

African-Americans also face challenges with economic mobility. According to the United States Census, Black children from low-income households have a 2.5% chance of reaching the highest household income than their White counterparts, who have a 10% chance. They’re also more likely to be in a worse economic standing than their parents.

Discrimination is also faced when getting mortgage loans, refinancing, and many more situations. Lenders are 80% more likely to deny mortgage loans to Black applicants than White applicants, even when they seem to meet all of the needed criteria.

Another thing that we must do is find ways to support our Black community members throughout San Diego.

One way we can do this is to look at where we’re spending our money and intentionally choosing to buy from and support Black-Owned Businesses. When we mindfully choose to spend money at these businesses, it helps create prosperity opportunities in the Black community. It’s also important to leave reviews to get more customers into these shops.

A crucial part of supporting the Black community is to show up and support, not just in times of need. This involves actively participating in the advancement of Black people. It isn’t enough to show up when a crisis occurs; we need to show up 24/7 through our actions.

We can give time, money, or offer our skills to organizations that work to advance opportunities for Black people for this task. This can include working with refugees at Christ United Methodist Church’s refugee center, volunteering for We All We Got San Diego in their goal to support San Diego, or donating to organizations such as the World Beat Center in their mission to provide educational activities for Black and other multicultural youth.

We can use our voices to support the Black community by talking about race. It can sometimes be hard to navigate conversations about race, but dialogue and connection are some of the best ways to create empathetic understandings of other people’s struggles. We must call out acts of injustice when we see it and not tolerate racist behavior in any of its forms.

There’s power in education. We can take the initiative in teaching our children, grandchildren, and friends about significant moments in American history that center around Black accomplishments. We can teach the truth about slavery to our youth. We can teach about our Black peers' great inventions and advancements. Take time to read the works of Black authors like Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Malcolm X. As non-Black people, we must educate our community about anti-racism and not leave it up to our Black peers to deal with.

Happy Black History Month, everyone!

MORE RESOURCES:

Resources for learning about the prison industrial complex, school-to-prison pipeline, and systemic racism are The 13th (documentary), Paper City (documentary), and The New Jim Crow (book). You can find a list of Black-owned businesses across the country on the WeBuyBlack website or some of San Diego’s Black-owned companies here. We can also support through donations to programs listed here on the ACLU’s website.