privilege

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” — Desmond Tutu

so i, obviously, grew up white. avoided cops on the road (go speed racer, go speed racer, go speed racer, gooooo), otherwise not so much. aside from that cop on horseback who stole julie, lin, and my weed outside boston common 35 years ago. but still, nothing so bad. and my experience protesting here and around the country over the past how ever many years did nothing to change that view. in fact, cops protected us during the NOW Caravan for Women’s Lives against the survivalists in eugene, oregon; against the AK47s in grand junction, colorado; against the bomb threats in gainesville, florida. the cops (including the Park Police) were a solid partner when we organized marches in DC and attended protests against new immigration hurdles, and on and on and on. 

just like you, i’ve heard stories of racist cops and their belligerent, de-humanizing attitude towards Black people. year after year. sandra bland’s death in 2015 hit me particularly hard: so obviously killed in her cell. and philandro castile in 2017 — there was fucking video. joined black lives matter marches. understood and even adopted some worry that my Black friends have about walking through my very white neighborhood alone at night. but ‘defund the police’? too far? i didn’t subscribe to the few bad apples ideal, but also didn’t think it was that bad. wow. so much has changed in just under the month since George Floyd was killed.

i believe and work toward justice and equality and a caring morality; however, i have helped sustain an implicitly racist system. i struggle against the cognitive dissonance of protesting in front of (DC) mayor bowser’s house, yelling 'defund the police’ in front of 22 officers sworn to protect her and her property, who remained expressionless. cops are human beings and it's still so hard for me to believe that humans can treat people (or anything) in a non-humane manner. (holocaust, i know. rwanda, i know. serbia, i know. vietnam, i know. guatemala, i know. israel, i know. told you it’s cognitive dissonance.)

i know good cops exist. but i also know, now, that the system in which they are policing is incurably flawed. the most sensible way to begin eradicating 400 plus years of willful abuse and neglect against Black people in the US is to knock down the policing and prison system and start over. From the Brookings Institution:

“Defund the police” means reallocating or redirecting funding away from the police department to other government agencies funded by the local municipality. That’s it. It’s that simple. Defund does not mean abolish policing. 

instead of sending cops to deal with someone in a schizophrenic crisis, send trained mental health professionals. instead of militarizing local police with more than $7 billion worth of excess war equipment from the US Armed Forces, reallocate money to building community centers and fixing schools in low-income neighborhoods. instead of cops responding to traffic because of a pothole in the street, fund an extra road crew shift. but it’s more than that.

our taxes must fund a less eurocentric education as well as racial equity offices that have power to enforce regulations. my neighbors must admit that they watch Black people walking through the town more closely than they do whites. medical, mental health, housing, and human services must receive more funding. along with these systemic changes, we, as a country, must work to correct the wrongs that have kept Black people (as a whole) from thriving. yes, that means reparations and preference and affirmative action and tax breaks and so much more. the system must change and we must change with it. 

soooo. this has given me the perfect opportunity to start the foundation i’ve wanted to create since scott died. i’m selling the business (finally finally finally), probably to the three women i love and have worked with for years. and i will be able to do more than march or rally — i can help fund programs. and if i’m asked, help create some too. i’m specifically looking to focus on providing Black women and their families stability in housing. not sure how that will play out yet (still researching). could take the form of down payments on a house, financial literacy classes, mental health appointments, rent for a year, etc. not telling you all this so you can say ‘wow, evie’s so great.’ i’m telling you cause writing down my journey helps me understand it better. and i’m excited about making a difference and maybe this can help you examine how you can make a difference as well. let’s listen, then act.