To any who need to move on I say simply: “Thank you, and be of good cheer.” To those with the courage and stamina to continue the conversations and protests against racial injustice, I have only the same simple message of hope. From the streets to the book clubs. From classrooms to locker rooms. From squad rooms to boardrooms. From the Olympic dais to the NFL sidelines. At the negotiating table. All of it is peaceful protest.
Every generation has the opportunity to bend the moral arc toward justice. Black slavery no longer exists because a generation fought a long and bloody civil war. A generation of civil rights marchers protested for decades to end legal oppression under Jim Crow, and the mass murder and torture that came with it. Speaking and preaching and agitating for racial justice is as old as the country itself. It is the patriotic thing to do.
Earlier generations showed their mettle. We must solve much different problems stemming from the same root. Vigilante and police harassment are not the same as vigilante and police murder. Both are quite different from measurably worse outcomes for persons of color in our education, finance, labor, legal, health care and housing institutions.
Change requires personal engagement at every level in every organization. All we can do is our best. So thank you, and be of good cheer.
Tim Shea
Salt Lake City