In Defense of Anger

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about the angry people of the world. We look at the “angry” looters, the “angry” protestors, the “angry” politicians and the “angry” rhetoric surrounding police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. We look at the “angry” in the world, and say, there should be peace. Let’s be civil, we say. Let’s solve it the way that Martin Luther King Jr. solved it, the way that Ghandi solved it. But didn’t we shoot Dr. King? Didn’t we beat and arrest 80,000 peaceful Salt March participants? Didn’t we resist the change in status quo, time and time again in history, with violence? The thing is, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery didn’t start these protests. We have been led here today from the moment the first slave ships docked in American ports in 1619. It has been 400 years, and in that time there have been countless atrocities committed against enslaved people and the black population, much of which has not been recorded, watched, and listened to. People of color have been tired and angry. People of color have been shouting from the rooftops for a very long time, and it is only now, in this wave of intense and burning anger, that the people on the street below are starting to notice. Now, in the wake of a pandemic that has failed black and brown communities and exposed the rotten core of America’s racist

healthcare system, the people are angry. When 21% of COVID-19 deaths are black folks, while only making up 13% of the population, and when the Navajo Nation has the highest infection rate per capita than any other state in the nation, people start to notice, and people start to care. That’s what this anger is fundamentally about -- caring. White people, for much of their lives, have not cared. Now, allies and accomplices are out marching alongside their black friends and family, supporting and uplifting voices that have been drowned out by people saying that they are “pulling the race card,” or “dragging up old history.” Is this not history in the making, this moment right now? Is this not what we are taught to love, an uprising against the unjust and corrupt systems that have been proven over and over and over again to discriminate against black and brown bodies? Is it not American to want equality, freedom, and justice for all? We have seen the non-violent protests that have done nothing for the Black Lives Matter movement and stopping the spread of racism. Colin Kaepernick, kneeling in peace, was slandered and shunned for his acts of peace and calm. It’s time for white people and people of color to come together in a movement of unity and stand against these horrible acts of violence towards black people, and it’s time for everybody to get angry. It is not time to loot the small businesses, nor is it time for white folks to get their anarchist riot itch scratched. In the words of Killer Mike, we need to “Plot, plan, organize, strategize, and mobilize.” And the only way that we can plot and plan is to get angry, get educated, and unite under the idea that yes, racism is alive and kicking, and yes, people are going to continue to be mad and fighting for a very long time after the media coverage dies down. If you do not believe that systemic and personal racism is a problem, you certainly have not been paying attention, or you own a great deal of privilege. The resources are out there. Read good books. Read people’s social media posts. Watch movies. Listen to black voices. Stay angry.

By Anti Racist Group. email cchang21@pacificridge.org or lrikkers@pacificridge.org for questions and feedback.