My Reflections
By Alice Roberts-Davis - Commissioner, Minnesota Dept. of Administration
Sometimes when I’m cleaning a room in my home, I drag everything out to the middle of the floor. I sort through it. I organize it. I decide what I should hold on to and what I need to let go of. Only then do I start to meticulously put things away, vacuum the carpet, and spray the air freshener.
I wonder if that’s where we are as Americans, all our dirty laundry in the middle of the floor for the rest of the world to see. The racism that has been shoved under the bed for decades and the stark disparities between Black and white previously hidden in a drawer are all now on international display.
Perhaps this is the catalyst that will put our country on a different course – an opportunity to proverbially “clean house.”
What many of us have experienced quietly throughout our lives has been thrust into the broader community’s consciousness. In so much sadness and anger, we have seen many new allies join us and decry the many fouls against us.
I believe that shared accountability and people from all races calling for an end to systemic racism by using their voices, their money, and their votes to support a more equitable America, is a huge step in the right direction.
This gives me hope.
The past year has been extremely painful and extremely emotional. As we start to put away those things that we have decided to hold on to, we must remember that the point of cleaning is to put them away with space for what’s new. New thoughts, new ideas, new positive energy should reclaim the space of what was once there.
I pray that racism exists only in the old America and that we are creating a new America with a bright and shiny future for all.
ABOUT THE REFLECTIONS CAMPAIGN
After a year of reckoning with the ravages of racism in our schools, businesses, neighborhoods, and halls of justice, we see clearly that racism is deeply woven into every fiber of our society and that the consequences have touched each person in America. We see the depths of division and racism and the imperative to work in new ways to address very old problems.
The Center for Economic Inclusion invited leaders at all levels and from across sectors to share their reflections of the past year; several members of the Center’s staff have also participated. We wanted to learn how they have reckoned with racism over the past year; what is different in the places where they live, work, and play; what they think the the future holds; and what they think it will take to reimagine and build an economy that truly works for everyone.
We thank the leaders who answered our call to participate in this campaign. All week long, we will share their powerful reflections, in their own words.
> To engage with our entire Reckoning to Rise Together series, click here.