"One of the most dangerous threats to equity is the idea that inequality doesn't exist, or it's been eradicated. We're at a watershed moment as a country, where we're seeing all of the inequities that have existed in the country magnified by COVID and the racial uprising of the spring and summer. We're seeing Black people are disproportionately dying from COVID, and Hispanics are testing positive at disproportionately high rates.
This calls into question issues of not only healthcare access, but also the need for diversity in medicine, as many white physicians are shown to still hold many false stereotypical beliefs about people of color that impact the quality of care they receive.
We're seeing the inequities in education and access to resources magnified, as we try to tackle virtual learning and navigate safely reopening schools. And we're being reminded that institutions from education to policing and even healthcare -- institutions built on white supremacist ideals and principals of exclusion -- were largely created to serve the white, wealthy and mostly male population.
Until we see inequality as a symptom of greater systematic failure, rather than the problem of those left out of participating in the systems, we will not be able to move forward.
The above excerpt was contributed by Anesia C.
Denying the Denial
It’s time for the majority to reject the notion that these issues don’t exist or that there isn’t a systemic issue at hand. This step is crucial, as its the pre-cursor for change. It will be nearly impossible to overcome an issue if people refuse to acknowdge it requires to be overcome.
So what does it mean to “deny denial”? in part, it means never abandoning your voice to remind people that as marginalized people, we are the proof - our experience is our evidence. But secondary to that, there are empirical measures of this also that we can reference to bring these issues to light.
Burdening Marginalized Groups
Yes, perhaps the most apparent challenge with the efforts to fight inequality is that the burden seems to largely fall on the marginalized to educate and advocate for their inherent worth to be realized. To convince the ignorant that there are no excuses that justify allowing race, gender, sexual orientation or any other inherent factor to inhibit the legal rights of that person.
But this isn’t the world we live in. Time and time again, the burden falls on the marginalized to relive their trauma for the self-preservation. Perhaps this is one the most compelling argument for why the majorities need to step up.
We must deny that these groups don’t need help to achieve equality. Deny that there isn’t anything you can do on an individing level to seek change. And by denying that, we admit that if we continue to leave the marginalized to fight for equality alone and instead deny that we have the power as the minority, we also continue the cycle of this systemic oppression.
About #TheCoalitionSpeaks
. #TheCoalitionSpeaks is an initiative that gives a voice for people to talk about how they process, experience, or deal with various forms of #inequality. These stories are the subjective experiences of our supporters and expose a variety of emotions that accompany the experiences surrounding issues of inequality.