Yesterday’s mob attack on the U.S. Capitol was not only a riotous assault on American democracy, but just as notably, a display of institutionalized white power and domestic terrorism.
White people breaking windows and wielding Confederate flags were met with restraint from law enforcement and seditious comfort from the president on the same streets where not long ago, protesters advocating legal justice and carrying “Black Lives Matter” signs were attacked with rubber bullets and tear gas.
While a protest for justice in no way parallels an attempted coup, this dichotomy in police response highlights, once again, our nation’s deficiency in equality, free speech and human rights. It illustrates why our work at Urban Teachers must begin and end with our pursuit of equity, our charge of anti-racism, our service to children.
We condemn the violent coup attempt and executive-led subterfuge. But more importantly, at Urban Teachers, we are reminded of the work that remains and we are buoyed by overwhelming democratic engagement and the promise of our first female-identifying, Black, Indian vice president, the first Black senator from Georgia and that state’s first Jewish senator.
We encourage our team members, partners, teachers and supporters to examine the roles we play in the systems that breathed life into the events of January 6, 2021. May this reflection make way for action in all of our lives in the days and year ahead.