CC: RR: Prompt 3: Justice
In 1958, Martin Luther King, Jr said, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” Since then, major steps forward have been made: public segregation ended in 1964, in 1972, Shirley Chrisholm became the first African-American woman to make a serious bid for the U.S. Presidency, Guion S. Bluford, Jr became the first African American to go to space as part of the Challenger crew, Condoleezza Rice is named the national security adviser in 2001, becoming the first woman and second African American to hold this position and in 2004 Barak Obama became the first African-American president in the United States. Invaluable contributions to music, writing and sports have been made by African-Americans such as Michael Jackson, Maya Angelo and Muhammed Ali.
However, despite the steps forward, statistics show the continued struggle for true equality. The United States Department of Labor released the following demographics regarding national pay disaparity amongst the races. It shows that African Americans’ pay is significantly dispaportionate to the national average.
Additionally, the National Center for Education Statistics show that while 64% of whites graduate college, 40% of African-Americans do. In healthcare, a recent Key Data on Health and Health Care study found that while 11% of African-Americans were uninsured, only 6% of whites were. It listed unemployment rates as a factor, which speaks to the disparity among the races in the workforce. The Washington Post has been live tracking shootings by police since 2015 when Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, was shot and killed by a white officer. They have found that African-Americans are 2.5 times more likely than a white person to be fatally shot by police. Brown was followed by national cases like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd that provoked new laws like banning no-knock warrants, restricting the use of neck restraints and require police wear body cameras. In our story, River’s Rowan, Timothy Dunluce was beaten by white officers to death, and his death sparked both fear and action, resulting in a mass rally Sierra attended.
Our prompt for the week: Have you ever participated in a demonstration or rally to voice concern over racial disparity? Do you think the positive cultural gains over the last sixty years are propotional to the equality gaps that still exist?
It’s your turn! Please add your response to the comments below!
Tiffini Johnson 
I participated in a lot of rallies especially in the 60s and 70s. Most recently I protested the overturn of Roe. Demonstrating is a way to let our voices be heard that is not utilized enough in the United States.
Thanks Sarah! Do you feel that any of the demonstrations you have been a part in have led to desired changes? In other words, do you feel that the rallies you’ve been a part of have been effective?
I was part of the rallies that took place after Breonna Taylor. I think all of the BLM rallies and demonstrations were effective in creating new legislation. But I judge the effectiveness of a rally not only by whether it leads to change in the immediate future. Rallies create change by shifting cultural perspectives and getting the people to talk over time.
“Rallies create change by shifting cultural perspectives and getting the people to talk over time” – this is a really powerful thought. Thank you for sharing—and reading!