A Small Town Protest, A Greater Change
Why thinking your small town does not have a race problem reveals that you do and what you can do about it.
You may not realize it, but racism exists everywhere, even in your small town. We often dismiss this notion with comfortable phrases such as, “not my town” and “we’re friendly to everyone.” Being friendly, however, does not mean that racial biases do not exist and affect minority racial groups everyday.
The Realization of Systemic Racism in My Town (And in Yours too)
Across small towns in America, one might not immediately recognize the lasting effects of blatant racism from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In reality, this reveals the persistent and insidious nature of systemic racism in our daily life. Systemic racism, also referred to as institutionalized racism, is defined as when someone is treated unfairly because of their race that has become part of the normal behavior of people within an organization. The norms of systemic racism have become so thoroughly embedded in small towns that it may be hard for white people to even recognize it at first. It is necessary that as white people, we take ownership of the injustices and discrimination that exists in our communities and take action in uprooting them. There was recently a protest in my town that opened my eyes to the importance of having grassroots-level movements around the country aimed at fighting and uprooting systemic racism from the community. George Floyd’s death sparked our predominantly white community to start addressing institutionalized racism and utilize our white privilege to join in solidarity with the Black Lives Matters movement.
Identifying instances of racism
At the protest, it was a jarring moment to realize that I, like many others, have been a bystander to the racist actions by fellow community members. Our school system, which is meant to be a safe and supportive space, is a nightmare for our Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) peers. We do not provide resources for BIPOC students, there are no BIPOC teachers, and BIPOC students are disciplined more severely and treated differently than white students. As their white peers, we were ignorant in acknowledging these faults in our school system.
If, upon reading this, your own school system seems similar to my experience, it is time for concrete action. Advocating for reforms that support BIPOC students, within our local educational systems, will strengthen our small and large communities as a whole.
Beyond our school system, my local protest addressed the injustices and fear Black communities consistently feel from the police force. A Black member recounted how when he was sixteen-years-old, an undercover police officer followed him for a whole day and then searched him for drugs without any motive. This was just one example from many about the gross abuses that the Black community experiences at the hands of our local cops.
Racist incidents don’t occur in a vacuum, they happen in every town across our nation whether one sees it or not. Acknowledging the pervasive effect of systemic racism — such as the fact that the police are not fair and just to all — is the first step in dismantling its existence.
What can I do now?
Small town protests are just as important, if not more, than those in bigger cities. City protests make primetime news; however, your community is your sphere of direct influence. It is where one sees tangible change and difference. In small towns, everyone knows everyone, and it is easy to directly speak with the school administrators, the policymakers of the town board, and the mayor or town selectman — they may even be your neighbor. Those who have the power to affect change are members of your community. Make them hear you. By having a protest, you show that this is an important issue that must be changed and cannot be ignored.
You can also invite your local representatives to raise awareness to the state and federal levels of government. We have the ability to start to overturn the system that has been designed to leave others out and at a disadvantage. By making your small town an ally, you have the potential to uproot institutionalized racist beliefs and create a community that thinks and acts with equity and fairness.
If you are a white person, it is your duty to use your privilege to ensure that BIPOC communities feel they have a safe space and platform to discuss the necessary change in their community, educational system, and local police force. We need to listen and educate ourselves as well as those around us to recognize racial injustice and speak out against it. In order for Black Lives Matter to be a movement in every small town, we have to continue forward toward change. Help your neighborhood and this nation maintain momentum in order to rectify the racist history of our country and fight for positive change.
The following are resources that you can delve into in order to begin your nonviolent movement within your community:
https://blacklivesmatter.com/resources/
https://tactics.nonviolenceinternational.net/view_tactics https://creative-capital.org/2020/06/03/resources-ways-to-support-black-lives-matter/
Further articles to explore:
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/21/881358567/how-small-towns-are-organizing-protests-for-racial-justice
https://www.thoughtco.com/how-racism-affects-public-school-minorities-4025361
