Talking about Racism in the Context of the Trial against George Floyd’s Murderer: Practical Recommendations for Professionals, Parents, & Clinicians

Abstract

In the weeks following the killing of George Floyd and media coverage of the killings of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the Black Lives Matter movement and other protests for racial justice swept the world. Demonstrations occurred in more than 700 cities internationally and across all 50 states in the United States. Notably, demands for the dismantling of systemic racism extended far beyond police brutality to include inequities in health, housing, economic opportunity, and other sectors. In academia, faculty, students, and staff called attention to the ways in which “universities remain ivory towers perpetuating institutionalized forms of racism, oppression, and inequity” (p. 13, Galán et al., 2021; Gray, Joseph, Glover, & Olayiwola, 2020), while psychologists highlighted the ways in which direct and vicarious exposure to racial violence and discrimination may compromise mental health and contribute to racial trauma. Although Pew Research Center surveys in June 2020 showed increased recognition of racism as a problem and increased public support for the Black Lives Matter movement, support for these issues has since returned to pre-June levels among White people (Pew Research Center, 2020). However, the trial for Derek Chauvin - the White, former Minneapolis police officer charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the murder of George Floyd – is scheduled to start March 8, 2021. With Chauvin’s trial certain to garner wide-spread media coverage and protests, it is likely that we will see another uptick in conversations and concerns regarding racial inequities. While conversation and action towards dismantling racism are always welcomed and needed, we must stop the practice of only recognizing a problem when it is in our face, sprawled across social media feeds, news segments, and websites. These reactive practices do little to dismantle oppressive systems, especially when they are followed by complacency that often settles in as news headlines transition to the next “hot topic” and our positions of power and privilege allow us to go on with our lives, as if the racist systems and practices we vehemently opposed just a week earlier have suddenly been abolished.So, before our Twitter accounts, the New York Times, USA Today, and every other newspaper outlet bombard us with headlines, reminding us of why protests swept our country last summer, let us be intentional with reflecting on: (1) larger systems of oppression and racism that this trial represents and the ways in which we have been complicit (or active contributors) to their perpetuation, and (2) the effect that this trial may have on our Black colleagues, students, clients, and friends. We offer the following recommendations for health providers, educators, parents, and social media users.