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As the world grapples with the reality of systemic racism, student Michael Kraft shares his thoughts on how to move forward

Someone holding up sign saying "End systemic racism enough is enough" with the names of black lives matter victims on the side. In the background, there is a crowd of people and palm trees and mountains.
A sign from the Black Lives Matter protest in Honolulu, HI.
Photo by Eli Hadley

When the video of Ahmaud Arbery being killed while jogging went viral, it broke my heart. When I heard of Breonna Taylor’s death in her own home, it was crushing. And when I watched the nearly nine-minute video of a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck until he died, I knew I could no longer stay quiet. 

As a black man, I cannot write this without sharing my own thoughts and opinions about racism and the latest instance of an unarmed black man being killed by the police. 

American comedian Dave Chappelle said it best. “Black people are very afraid of the police. That is a big part of our culture. It doesn’t matter how rich you are, how old you are, we’re just afraid of them. We got every reason to be afraid of them.” 

I do not say this to insinuate that all police are bad, or that all police are racist. Because they aren’t. But when I get pulled over, I have no way of knowing what type of officer I am dealing with. That being said, interacting with police aren’t the only times I have experienced racism. It happens all of the time, even with subtle remarks with no malice behind them. 

Things like, “But you’re black, why aren’t you better at basketball?” or, “You’re very articulate. A lot of black guys I know aren’t as well spoken as you.” Yes, I am black. No, we are not all the same. 

Please don’t put me in a box. The things you say may not have the same consequences as a police officer drawing his weapon on me, but it hurts all the same. It hurts because putting us all into a box of what a black man is, and what a black man does, is why Derek Chauvin was so comfortable kneeling on George Floyd’s neck until he died. 

It’s been months since George Floyd was killed and the world seems to have united in its fight against racism and prejudice. I have often wondered why this is a fight that needs to be fought at all. Can’t people see that racism and racist ideologies are not positive traits? Standing on the grass of the Hawaii State Capitol building alongside thousands of protesters, I found my answer. 

As I stood there, I looked around and realized the reason the fight against racism still rages on is it is a battle that takes place not only on a societal level, but also on an individual level. To end racism on a large scale, it must first be abolished in our own hearts. 

In a recent social media post, President Russel M. Nelson gave counsel as to how to create a more unified world. 

“We need to foster a fundamental respect for the human dignity of every human soul, regardless of their color, creed, or cause. And we need to work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation … I plead with us to work together for peace, for mutual respect, and for an outpouring of love for all of God’s children.” 

We need to put ourselves in the shoes of people we don’t understand. We need to educate ourselves, through conversations, through reading books, through taking in media that shows us the lives and stories of people who aren’t the same as us, and as we do this we will be able to understand each other. 

As a society we need to learn about others, and by doing so, we will build understanding, and one fine day, we may well see an end to the plague of racism and racist ideologies. 

This goes for everyone, White, Black, Latinx, Polynesian, Native American, Asian, male or female, gay or straight, it doesn’t matter. To finally end this poisonous mentality that any race is better than another, we must first look inwards if we wish to change the outside world. 

We can no longer live in fear. We need to make changes so people do not have to be afraid of each other because of differences in the color of our skin. As the great George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, said, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.” And, after all, hasn’t the world seen enough suffering already?