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We Must Do Better

“I grew up in the 60's – at a time when there was an explosion of civil unrest. I experienced that sorrow of the untimely deaths of Rev Martin Luther King Jr., President John F. Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. There were race riots in the streets. Buildings burning. Black against white. And I watched as we tried to ‘fix’ the problem of racism with technical fixes: one drinking fountain instead of two; white and colored. Laws saying everyone can sit anywhere on the bus. Laws allowing everyone to sit at the lunch counter together, black and white. Desegregation. And on and on. And now I am watching what’s happening in response to the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of those expected to protect and serve. What's in our hearts hasn't changed. What we believe hasn't changed. Because if it had, a black man pleading ‘I can’t breathe’ would have elicited a truly HUMAN response. We cannot continue to approach an adaptive social problem with technical ‘fixes.’ We can do better. We must do better.” - Jody