Blog Post
Pag-unawa sa Pagkakaisa
Kapag Naging Global ang Lokal
Ikatlong bahagi ng isang serye ng mga first-person na account mula sa on-the-ground na pananaw mula sa Common Cause Minnesota Executive Director na si Annastacia Belladonna Carrera.
Habang libu-libo ang dumaloy sa simbahan sa Houston, Texas, upang parangalan si George Floyd kahapon, isang kuwento tungkol kay George mula sa kanyang guro sa ikalawang baitang napakaraming inihayag. Siya nagdala ng a pagguhit ni George na gawa sa Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Dito, isinulat ni George gusto niya ang maging isang Supreme Court Justice tulad ng kanyang huwaran.
Katarungan ay ang kay George Floyd legacy ay tungkol sa lahat.
Upang parangalan legacy ni George, nagmartsa ang mga aktibista sa bawat kulay, katayuan, at karanasan sa buhay. Kami ay nalampasan at nalampasan masasamang elemento na sa loob ng ilang gabi ay nagawang manaig ating mapayapang pagsisikap, pagtatangkaing kay deripagpaliban at ipagpaliban muli ang hustisya.
Direktor ng FBI Sinabi ni Christopher Wray ang protestamay “matuwid at mahalagang layunin.” May nakita kaming pulis at mga pulitiko sa buong bansa ay sumali sa mga nagpoprotesta at lumuhod, isang pagkilala sa loob ng hanay ng mga departamento ng pulisya at mga gumagawa ng patakaran ng a pagnanais ng marami na makitang ipinagbabawal ang paggamit ng labis na puwersa at wakasan ang pagkakaiba ng lahi. Binaligtad ni National Football League Commissioner Pete Goodell ang posisyon ng Liga at humingi ng paumanhin sa mga manlalaro para sa maling paghatol laban sa malaya expression na sinimulan ni Collin Kaepernick upang iprotesta ang pagkakaiba ng lahi sa pagpupulis sa pamamagitan ng pagluhod sa panahon ng pambansang awit. Hindi masasabing milyun-milyong tao ng lahat ng kulay, edad, at katayuan sa buong mundo kumukuha na ngayon isang tuhod at magpapatuloy hanggang sa maging totoo ang hustisya. At hindi ito sapat.
Ang Black Lives Matter Plaza ay isang dalawang-block na mahabang mural na iniutos bilang bahagi ng pampublikong art project ng DC ni Mayor Muriel Bowser. Ang sentro ng mga protesta sa Washington, ang lugar ay humahantong sa Lafayette Square at nasa ilalim ng isa sa mga pangunahing landas ng paglipad para sa helicopter ng pangulo sa mga take-off at landing mula sa South Lawn.
Ttinanggihan niya ang papel ng Amerika sa mundo, na itinulak pababa ng pagkapangulo ni Donald Trump at ang kanyang administrasyon, ay nasa kamay na ng ating kilusang protesta – at sa totoo lang – diyan ito nararapat, kasama ang mga tao. Ang tanong ay, cat tayo ang mga tao malampasan ang mga pagkakaiba at sama-sama maghatid ng mga pamahalaan sa lokal, estado, at pambansang antas na sumasalamin sa multikultural pagkakaiba-iba ng mga nagmamartsa sa mga lansangan? Makakapunta ba tayo sa lugar kung saan ang mga halaga ng pagmamahal, pakikiramay, katarungan, at pagkakapantay-pantay ang mapayapang protestas demand ay sa unahan ng institusyonal pagbabago at hindi isang afterthought ng kaginhawahan? kay George Floyd pamana ay nakahanda upang itulak ating komunidad mas malapit saward ang mithiin ng a mas perpektong pagsasama. Enapaka henerasyon ng Hilaga Amerikanos, kung bagong dating o may multigenerational na mga ugat, ay nahirapang tukuyin at makamit ideal na ito ngunit mayroon hindi sumusuko ito. Hindi mahalaga ang mga posibilidad.
Now na mayroon kaming Minnesota's, ang bansa, kahit na nakatuon ang atensyon ng mundo sa mga pagkakaiba ng lahi sa pagpupulis at bawat iba pang aspeto ng Amerikano buhay, ano ang gagawin natin dito? yun sandali, ang pivot mula sa protesta patungo sa patakaran ay kung saan maraming galaw ang naliligaw. Sumusulong, if hindi natin pinagbabatayan ang ating sarili sa isang pagkakaisa ng layunin, tayo hahatiin ng mga iyon na ayaw nating magtagumpay bilang sila ay may kaya maraming beses bago. Ang pagkakaisa ay hindi nangangahulugang sumasang-ayon tayo sa 100% sa lahat; nangangahulugan ito na sumasang-ayon tayo na magkaisa para sa iisang layunin na hindi makatarungan at nangangailangan ng mga reporma. Ang aming mga karapatan ay hindi pie. Ang aking mga kalayaan at karapatan ay hindi nagsisimula, ni nagtatapos, kung saan ang sa iyo ay nagsisimula. Ang aking mga kalayaan at karapatan ay hindi naglilimita sa iyo.
Gaya ng nabanggit ko nang simulan ang seryeng ito, hindi ako Pollyanna. Pa rin, Naiintindihan ko kung paano akontal imahe ng a Babaeng Latina scurrying tungkol sa gitna nagagalit mga nagpoprotesta, clipboard sa kamay, sinusubukan na magparehistro mga botante, maaaring humantong sa ilan na maniwala kung hindi. As a human and civil rights attorney, I understand spaces of power, who has it, who doesn’t, and why it’s set up that way. As one young African American man shouted at me as peaceful protests first turned violent in Minneapolis, “Lady, you just don’t get it.” I understood what he meant even if he didn’t understand me. At this moment, our collective vote is power. I wanted him and others to channel their anger, their outrage, at their pain through their vote. I wanted them to know that no matter how powerless they felt, they actually held great political power to change the stage for those who either kept racists systems in place sa pamamagitan ng inaction, or who put them in place through their policies.
Ttinanggihan niya ang papel ng Amerika sa mundo, na itinulak pababa ng pagkapangulo ni Donald Trump at ang kanyang administrasyon, ay nasa kamay na ng ating kilusang protesta – at sa totoo lang – diyan ito nararapat, kasama ang mga tao. Ang tanong ay, cat tayo ang mga tao malampasan ang mga pagkakaiba at sama-sama maghatid ng mga pamahalaan sa lokal, estado, at pambansang antas na sumasalamin sa multikultural pagkakaiba-iba ng mga nagmamartsa sa mga lansangan? Makakapunta ba tayo sa lugar kung saan ang mga halaga ng pagmamahal, pakikiramay, katarungan, at pagkakapantay-pantay ang mapayapang protestas demand ay sa unahan ng institusyonal pagbabago at hindi isang afterthought ng kaginhawahan? kay George Floyd pamana ay nakahanda upang itulak ating komunidad mas malapit saward ang mithiin ng a mas perpektong pagsasama. Enapaka henerasyon ng Hilaga Amerikanos, kung bagong dating o may multigenerational na mga ugat, ay nahirapang tukuyin at makamit ideal na ito ngunit mayroon hindi sumusuko ito. Hindi mahalaga ang mga posibilidad.
Now na mayroon kaming Minnesota's, ang bansa, kahit na nakatuon ang atensyon ng mundo sa mga pagkakaiba ng lahi sa pagpupulis at bawat iba pang aspeto ng Amerikano buhay, ano ang gagawin natin dito? yun sandali, ang pivot mula sa protesta patungo sa patakaran ay kung saan maraming galaw ang naliligaw. Sumusulong, if hindi natin pinagbabatayan ang ating sarili sa isang pagkakaisa ng layunin, tayo hahatiin ng mga iyon na ayaw nating magtagumpay bilang sila ay may kaya maraming beses bago. Ang pagkakaisa ay hindi nangangahulugang sumasang-ayon tayo sa 100% sa lahat; nangangahulugan ito na sumasang-ayon tayo na magkaisa para sa iisang layunin na hindi makatarungan at nangangailangan ng mga reporma. Ang aming mga karapatan ay hindi pie. Ang aking mga kalayaan at karapatan ay hindi nagsisimula, ni nagtatapos, kung saan ang sa iyo ay nagsisimula. Ang aking mga kalayaan at karapatan ay hindi naglilimita sa iyo.
Gaya ng nabanggit ko nang simulan ang seryeng ito, hindi ako Pollyanna. Pa rin, Naiintindihan ko kung paano akontal imahe ng a Babaeng Latina scurrying tungkol sa gitna nagagalit mga nagpoprotesta, clipboard sa kamay, sinusubukan na magparehistro mga botante, maaaring humantong sa ilan na maniwala kung hindi. As a human and civil rights attorney, I understand spaces of power, who has it, who doesn’t, and why it’s set up that way. As one young African American man shouted at me as peaceful protests first turned violent in Minneapolis, “Lady, you just don’t get it.” I understood what he meant even if he didn’t understand me. At this moment, our collective vote is power. I wanted him and others to channel their anger, their outrage, at their pain through their vote. I wanted them to know that no matter how powerless they felt, they actually held great political power to change the stage for those who either kept racists systems in place sa pamamagitan ng inaction, or who put them in place through their policies.
The intersection where George Floyd was killed is the epicenter of memorials and protests in Minneapolis.
Many of us leading organizations or groups and who have been involved with social justice issues and protests led by ating communities of color in the Twin Cities knew that at some point, trouble-makers of varying levels of sophistication try to influence public opinion about the issues protesters raise or start divisive narratives to drive a tayo-against-you agenda. Our job as advocates is keeping people focused on the issue at hand, not allow others sa hijack ang issues, narrative, or momentum of the protests.
Outrage is justified. Anger is justified. Violence is not.
As an attorney, I’m a sworn officer of the court. There are lines I personally will not cross. As a lobbyist working to lift every voice and every vote in our democracy, I don’t believe we get good government from violence. As a previous public defender, I know the realities faced by those young people caught up in the emotion of the moment with understandable outrage. Many are now caught up in the very criminal justice system peaceful protesters are demanding must change. Some not only face felony charges because of their involvement in the looting and destruction of property but if convicted they now face even more disenfranchisement. The felony charges that will follow them for life as they look for housing, seek employment, or simply wish to vote. In Minnesota, ex-felons cannot vote if they are under some type of institutional terms of conditional release, such as probation or parole. This is the reality I was trying to avoid for our young people with a clipboard in hand reminding them they had a choice and urging them to direct their outrage toward the power of their vote.
Another African American activist I’m acquainted with took after me on Facebook in a post because he disagreed with my message reminding people that violence never led to meaningful and long-term change. For him, unity meant that I must think and believe exactly as he did in order to be viewed as supporting the value of Black lives in Minnesota. He told me I wasn’t “woke enough” if I didn’t understand that things need to be broken before they can be fixed. While my “woke enough” brother is right, I will never fully appreciate what it feels like to be an African American male and deal with a lifetime of injustice, he will never fully appreciate my life experience either. Our respective experiences do not mean we can’t still come together for a common goal - to dismantle racial injustice by partnering to work the crossroads between social justice and democracy.
Judging a person by appearance is the profiling we collectively oppose. Assigning motive of what anyone is willing or unwilling to do based solely on an appeal for peaceful protest ay a tactic used by self-proclaimed disruptors sinusubukan na wedge a divisive narrative to manipulate the actions of protesters at justifying violence. Derek Chauvin racially profiled George and acted on his perceptions. He became the arresting officer, prosecutor, jury, judge, and executioner during the 8 minutes and 46 seconds his knee was on George’s neck. Those are also the judgments rendered by the other three cops who did nothing to intervene. That is the problem we need to keep focused on and work in unity to dismantle, not get sidetracked with who is “more woke” than who.
One of the thousands of people in Houston. Texas, who came to Monday's public viewing of George Floyd at the Fountain of Praise Church who brought a sign urging people to vote in memory of the man killed by police.
We cannot create justice using tactics of the oppressor - violence. Instead, we must understand what unity truly means and begin to live it and demonstrate each day until we have governments at all levels that reflect it. Unity doesn’t require us all to have the exact same experience, perspective, or belief. Unity actually requires us to acknowledge that we each have unique life experiences and regardless of what brings you and me to this moment, even if we disagree on every other aspect of life, unity means we can agree that police should not be able to use excessive force in any situation or be able to treat Black men and women differently from any other race. Unity doesn't require uniformity to agree that racial disparity in any part of American life is no longer acceptable and work together to make that real.
Unity of purpose doesn’t require us to agree on everything and it allows us to function in a democracy where the will of the people does make a difference.
Peaceful protests grew even more powerful this past weekend. We slowly won the peace in the streets, and the violence subsided with the agitators being weeded out. As I watched the whole world watching us, I grew more hopeful that Americans are ready to understand ang connections between disparities in policing and social justice between races; the health care disparity laid bare by COVID-19; ang economic, wage and income, and wealth disparities the pandemic highlights; at the disparities in power in a nation that purports to be of, by, and for all of us.
So, grab a clipboard and join me in reminding our young people and others that we, the people, are the ultimate power in our democracy. Through our collective vote, tayo hold power accountable. Making sure people are registered to vote is the first step.