If you asked most White Americans in 2000 if discrimination in the US was still a big problem, they probably would have said no. After all, slavery was long gone. Anybody could live, work, and socialize wherever they wanted. The US had finally succeeded in achieving its goal of becoming the great American melting pot.
If you asked people of color, however, you might have gotten a different answer. Yes, things were better, but racism was still a problem. The economic, educational, and justice systems still seemed rigged against people of color, especially African-Americans.
In the last 20 years, the answer has changed for the US as a whole. Racial tensions are higher again. Thanks to the ubiquity of cell phone cameras, everyone can see proof of what had been a well-known fact in the African-American community: One wrong move can still get a person killed. Just ask Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, and many others.
At Comprehensive Learning Solutions, we condemn all forms of discrimination and violence against people or property. We believe that ongoing, honest, and civil dialogue and positive actions are the only way to change attitudes, behaviors, and policies to reach our shared goals of peace, prosperity, and progress.
Right now, we have an impediment to dialogue: we are not even speaking the same language. Justice fighters are using terms in ways that the audience they are trying to convince still does not understand. Because words like “privilege” have multiple definitions, each side is relying on their own definitions of the word to disprove the other’s point. Until both sides use the same definitions, they will always talk past each other.
Comprehensive Learning Solutions seeks to change that situation. We are proud to announce the release of this new video, which provides easy-to-understand explanations of the complex concepts of “systemic racism,” “privilege,” and other terms central to this discussion. We hope that this video will facilitate dialogue, so that people can better understand each other and work together to bring fair treatment and justice to all people.
If you like this video, please share it on your website or social media page. Let’s work together to increase understanding.