Ant Pruitt is one of the nerdy technology podcasters I watch regularly—expert photographer, buff weightlifter, avid runner, black father. He talked last week about having to worry every morning about wearing bright, non-threatening running clothes to minimize the risk of surprising or scaring white people on his route—a risk underscored by white men chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery as he was jogging—and having to talk to his young sons about reducing the risk of being profiled, harassed or killed by police. Clearly these are tough conversations American minorities must have for daily safety and survival in our country that most white Americans never need to consider. Ant stressed that in addition to whites, blacks and other minorities talking together about dismantling systemic bias and bigotry in the US, white folks need to talk about it amongst ourselves, even when black folks aren’t around, even when it’s not MLK Day or Juneteenth. It must be part of white culture as well as black for it to finally work this time.
I remember some white guys in my Missouri youth, typically older schoolmates, routinely using the n-word in attempted jokes and slurs, likely learned from their parents. As a shy kid, I winced inside but said nothing to those ignorant boys, and now remember my silence with regret. I remember being wary of some of the black kids bussed from downtown St. Louis to my north suburban junior high school, having little comprehension of or sympathy for their often rougher realities, and wish I’d had the strength and compassion to reach out more. That was then, this is now, and now I can talk about it privately with friends and family, and write about it publicly, here.
Kudos to NASA management, who from Administrator Jim Bridenstine to Center Directors to my immediate supervisors have made it clear with words and actions that NASA will maintain a diverse, tolerant, safe work environment, and for having direct, open conversations about the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests of this and countless other incidents of unjustified police violence against black Americans. Such conversations acknowledge the still-current challenge of America’s long, tragic history of racist violence from native genocide and brutal kidnapping and enslavement of Africans and their American descendants through Jim Crow repression and today’s lingering injustices—in the “land of the free” that teaches we “are created equal”—only partly addressed by the Civil Rights movements and legislation of the last century. I’ve thought about posting some NASA managers’ heartfelt letters to employees, but more powerful is a recent JSC Diversity Panel discussion (also posted on YouTube) between 5 NASA leaders: JSC Director Mark Geyer, JSC Deputy Director Vanessa Wyche, SSC Assistant Director Daryl Gaines, JSC Deputy CIO Kofi Burney, and Astronaut and Navy Commander Victor Glover. Please take an hour to watch this video, noting these key points from their discussion and shared personal experiences:
- White people need to educate themselves, not expect black people to be their teachers.
- Even if you’re doing fine, have empathy for many Americans who are not doing fine.
- Engage in hard, open conversations as part of necessary healing, understanding and change.
- Daryl recounted having to calm a ranting, demeaning white traffic cop to de-escalate a potentially dangerous encounter on his way to work, a situation white drivers find annoying rather than threatening.
- Vanessa recounted having “the talk” with her son for his scholastic survival in a mostly white school with a bullying teacher, and for his literal survival when encountering police, which perhaps helped save his life when police errantly pulled guns on him at work. White sons rarely have to navigate around racist teachers and police.
- Victor recounted when he and his equally preppy college buddy were mistakenly ordered to the ground outside a K-mart and harassed by police until Victor’s father, a retired police officer, showed up just in time to de-escalate the situation and get his son away from the threat of police. Call this young black man lucky to have a cop as a father, helping him survive to later serve in the US Navy and Astronaut Corps.
- Kofi recounted how a job headhunter advised him to replace his given name—meaning “born on Friday” in Ghana—with his initials (something less African-sounding) to avoid the bias of racist hirers (who presumably would be surprised when he showed up for an interview). White job applicants don’t need to change their names to avoid racial discrimination.
- Vanessa recounted how Alex Haley’s Roots had a major impact upon her as a girl. (I remember the TV mini-series impacting me, making the textbook concept of generational slavery more visual, violent, demeaning, real.) Over dinner, her father expressed his hope that MLK’s vision would eventually come to fruition in the US, though still a long way off in the 1977…and 2020.
- Vanessa reminded us all to talk about these issues, events, and pain, even at work, if only to check on each other. She remembers that after a white supremacist murdered 9 black Americans and wounded 3 more in the 2015 Charleston church mass shooting, no one asked how she was, even knowing she was from South Carolina, as people tended to avoid such subjects at work even 5 years ago. We need to address racial hate and violence openly, no matter how uncomfortable the conversation.
- Mark shared that he feels he delayed reaching out a few days after George Floyd was tortured to death, perhaps not immediately seeing George as potentially his own son or relative. Understanding and change require broad empathy, especially among white Americans who enjoy societal privilege not enjoyed by minority Americans.
- NASA strongly supports employees who exercise their 1st Amendment right to peaceful assembly. No one should be afraid of retribution for joining peaceful protests. Great to see our most senior directors state this unequivocally.
- People around the world strongly support and are inspired by Americans justly protesting systemic racism and racial violence, and join us demanding action and change.
Isn’t progress long overdue? Isn’t it shameful that we still fall so short of American ideals in 2020?
Moonday 