As long as there is racism and white supremacy in Idaho, we should all be taking a knee

Sweeping change happened across our nation last month. We have the first Black/South-Asian, woman vice president. California sent its first Hispanic senator, and Georgia sent its first Black and Jewish senators to Congress. These are some of the many changes embraced by Americans that make the United States what it is. Our nation is a diverse one.

While our communities, our states and our country need to do much more to achieve the goals of a “more perfect Union,” these actions represent a small part of that goal. Yet, there are plenty of obstacles in Idaho’s way hindering our contribution.

When a Boise State athlete takes a knee in peaceful protest to say that Black Lives Matter and the Idaho community lashes out in protest, it is a harsh reminder that racism is not dead. White supremacy is still raging, like COVID-19, through our communities. It is killing the spirits of communities and killing the bodies of Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans, in Idaho and across the nation.

Idaho has seen enough. The resurgence of hate diminishes the progress we have made. This is seen in the defacing of the Anne Frank Memorial at the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, the acceptance of armed protests against Black Lives Matter over the spring and summer, and through the state legislation of LGBTQ+ and women’s bodies. I know the people of Idaho can do better.

We cannot use terms such as social justice and diversity as words to turn on each other, as we have seen from some of the Idaho state legislators. These ideas provide a way for people to learn how to live in this mosaic that is our world.

We do better through robust funding of educational, social and community programs that work to improve the lives of everyone who lives here. We do better when we have a diverse community involved in our academic, social, and political realms and not relegated to the margins. We do better when everyone knows that justice for all of Idaho’s citizens prevails over prejudice.

If we believe in equity for all of our citizens, then Idaho must look in the mirror to see the work that needs to be done.

We need to dismantle the foundations of white supremacy to provide opportunities for everyone in our community. We must remember, in the words of the Wassmuth Center, love, justice, respect, equality, kindness and compassion are everywhere.

We have to look for it, champion it and live it.