Freedom and Justice

Over the course of Freedom and Justice Week, our authors have provided glimpses into how racism has penetrated their communities, their workplaces, their schools, and their countries. What these articles demonstrate is that, while country contexts may vary, humanity has a problem with racism and bigotry that knows no borders and that is pervasive, toxic, and dehumanising. For people asking “what can I do?” our authors did not disappoint. Across the board, they call for action – from institutions and individuals, and all points in between. This series offers a place to start and a challenge to be honest, ambitious, and practical.

We’re living in a painful time in America’s story. It sucks. That being said, we also have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finish the chapter. To write history. To shape the future in a momentous way. To build a world where my now three-year-old son can walk the streets safely and confidently with your son. We can get there.

While Bermuda does not have the same racialised violence that has sparked widespread protest in the United States, even our idyllic island is not immune to the poison prejudice of racism. We have our own brand of racism – it just looks and feels different. It always has. But now is the moment to right the wrongs and the tides are changing.

Where I work, the stories of past traumas from racist experiences have come pouring out from both staff and young people. And as I heard their experiences, my initial anger turned into an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. But this sense of heaviness also began to change, as I understood the opportunity for people to speak their truth. And that Dr King’s dream of equality can still be realised in the generations to come.

In Turkey, those who had these opportunities because they were born in the ‘right’ part of the country feel superior to the others and discriminate against those who didn’t have the same luck. We need visionary leadership that tackles intra-race racism as well as the hatred that festers between races, so that we are no longer defined by the colour of our skin.

The killing of George Floyd became a problem for all of us. What would it take for this no longer to be seen as a US problem, a black problem, a ghetto problem, a problem for the poor? There is something different happening this time. The protests around the world and the interconnectedness of the young gives this moment an urgency.