We can, and must, do a thousand little things. The problem is it will be a long, slow, painful process
I want things to be better for black people in North America. But there isn’t one thing I can tell you that will make it better. That doesn’t mean we can’t do anything. It’s the opposite. , and it won’t work fast enough for anyone. But it’s the only way forward. And you don’t see that reflected in the debate over the death of George Floyd in police custody, or over the protests and riots that have happened since.
Changing our drug laws would be a strong start, giving police less cause to stop and harass people of colour unjustifiably. That alone would cut out millions of arrests in the U.S. each year, meaning millions fewer interactions that have the potential to go horrifically wrong. It would also mean millions fewer people being burdened with criminal records that ruin their chances at building a better life for themselves and their families.
Education reform could also make a difference. The most-heavily policed areas are usually the poorest ones. And because of the way the education system is designed, the poorest areas usually have the worst schools. Poverty and a lack of quality education will inevitably lead to higher crime rates, and by burdening so many members of a particular community with criminal records, we make it virtually impossible for them to break the cycle of poverty.
But until these things change, nothing will. All of them will take time. None of them will be enough on their own. And they will all have setbacks and failures along the way. But if we stick to them — better education, improved policing, drug reform, health-care reform — we would slowly, achingly slowly, begin to take steps towards repairing a racial justice system that has been broken for far too long.
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