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Do Your Part to Create Social Change in America

Published August 18, 2014 by nathalie

***This post is relevant for anyone who feels like their culture is oppressed within our great country. If you read this article and do not agree with any of the steps with in, I challenge you to do your research and find out where YOUR issues lie with racism, prejudice, and discrimination.***

Today Ferguson, Missouri is filled with smoke bombs and tear gas because a black teenager was shot and it has been 9 days with no arrest of his killer.  Everything else in this situation in Ferguson is just extra, and to be expected at this point.

Unfortunately, shootings, deaths, and wrongful convictions are too regular within the United States. Period. The African American community feels as if they are the ongoing target for the injustices of our country. The cases within the last month alone are testament to that fact. The problem starts with the poor perception and stereotypes of our culture and race, but the problem is our sloth-footed, inconsistent justice system when it comes to upholding minority’s rights.

Ferguson is a prime example of how NOT to bring about social justice. And since this is my website you are about to get my opinion. I recently took my frustrations to Twitter (@nreshard) which I will summarize and expand upon here:

As a public we don’t know how to respond to bring change. We respond emotionally taking to the streets, ignorantly shouting “F*** the police” when we would clearly be worse off without them. We don’t even know what we are voting for next week, so how are we going to know how to hold a protest? There is a serious lack of community leaders both black and white. And there are few leaders in place that seek the greater good for their entire community and not just a neighborhood.

 

As millennials we can’t even name one of our county commissioners, but we take to social media as #hashtag lobbyists.  We don’t even belong to an organization that can evoke change in our communities. And all of this leads to disorganization, mis-communication, and embarrassment. Our generation will suffer if it does not produce selfless leaders. We talk about change but have no idea where to start.

And to finish my opinion, this is the retweet that drives my points home. There is no reason to react emotionally to these cases anymore, we should be numb by this point.

So how do we begin to fix this?

1) Let’s start with our American duties. Register to vote. If your community is underrepresented, vote a representative in! Go Vote for someone you trust. You can find out what and who you are voting for here.


2) Since we have been down this street before in history, take a lesson from the success stories. Organize! You don’t have to create something to be a part of, there are civil rights organizations that have a presence in your very own community. Find them. Join a civil rights organization. Here’s an extensive list to start. If the NAACP is too ‘old school’ for you there are some younger and smaller organizations that are making waves in their pursuit of social justice, i.e. Dream Defenders and Color of Change.

3) Put your money where your mouth is. It costs money to lobby for your rights, if you are outraged/enraged then support financially. ALS has raised over $15 million since Mike Brown has been shot, while ‘Ferguson’ has clearly been in the forefront of all media! ‘Ferguson’ should be boosting financial support and membership of all civil rights organizations.

4) If you don’t feel confident in expressing your beliefs in a public manner then stick with the more traditional form of petitioning. There is a petition for almost every case and cause.  You can create one for your personal cause or join in with others. You can also reach out to your community leaders by letters, emails, and telephone calls. All their information is public.

5) Go out and meet your community leaders. Attend a town hall meeting. Learn who is making the most impact in your local community. Spend enough time at city hall that you get a fair judgement of your leader’s character. Introduce yourself as a concerned and active member of your community. If you are in Pensacola, Florida attend the Pensacola Network.

6) Go read a book! There are several historical biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs of civil rights leaders that shine light on what it takes to create change. If you have ever said, “I’m not into politics.” You have disqualified yourself from creating change in your own country. You cannot fight to change politics without becoming a politician, that includes our justice system.

Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s Through the 1980s
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision (Gender and American Culture)
Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Laws That Changed America

I recently finished A Long Walk to Freedom. It is a clear picture of the enduring process Nelson Mandela makes to eliminate the political oppression of native Africans in South Africa’s apartheid system. If there is anything I learned from the book is that there is a process, you can’t skip steps or pretend. You have to uphold the moral standard you want to receive.  As we continue striving for equality in America, let us take a strong look in the mirror and not perpetuate the derogatory actions or thought processes we see in this world.

Published in Personal Sports and Society

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