Kelley letter: Racial slur

The racial slur written on the property of the Idaho Black History Museum is temporary, but the system that produced those words will not melt or be brushed away so easily. For those who say that by giving attention to these incidences that we are somehow perpetuating them, I say to you that ignoring these incidents gives a space for those incidents to happen. By ignoring, we do not address the problems that exist. By ignoring we are complicit to the ongoing racial issues around us that are detrimental to people of color. What do we gain by ignoring? By putting a spotlight on the incident, the community has generated an outpouring of support. Racial justice is the responsibility of an entire community, and we need to know what is going on in our community. If anything, we need more conversations around race and for those conversations to be the burden of everyone to have. What actions have you taken recently to support people of color in our community? I suggest that anyone who is able that they donate money and time to the Idaho Black History Museum, or to other nonprofits that support our community efforts for racial justice.

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Kelley letter: Racial slur."