Kim, write your 3 most important social issues?

Ok three most important social issues… Reconciliation, Anti-Racism and the Justice System. All of these issues are related and intertwined in one way or another… I guess they are examples of the way I understand our system to be broken. Each area holds instances of how the power dynamics inherent in our government and hierarchies both negatively affect and actively oppress many different people by virtue of their social position within the system. It’s hard for me to actually name the important issues because what I feel I am naming here are areas where I see the most evidence of the damage… not the issue itself… I guess the issue itself could be captured with the words white supremacy. I guess that is the most important social issue to me because it is white supremacy, or a lack of acknowledgement/awareness of it that is behind these other issues that I initially identified. I think from an awakening to the reality of white supremacy, specifically by white people, all other necessary changes to the system and healing can be pursued. But without that awakening, especially by white people, I feel we will likely continue on as we have been going because at this point, it’s mainly the white people who are in denial that it was/is white supremacy that is the foundation of all our systems; and so until we acknowledge that, these systems will continue to negatively and adversely affect people of colour and those with less power. It is an honest and entire systemic reckoning that must be undertaken, which starts with acknowledging the role and insidious nature of white supremacy. Until we can manage to do that all efforts toward change will at best be ‘token’ efforts and they will not have any long term impact or lasting systemic effects.

*Amilkar Rodriguez and Juan Zhong contacted us from Annuity.org, a free financial web resource about the racial wealth gap. In the spirit of connection Book Interrupted has agreed to share the link to their article. Book Interrupted is not affiliated with Annuity.org.