At Care Share Health Alliance we approach this statement with intense sadness for the loss of life of Tyre Nichols and with the deepest sympathy for his family to have lost a loved one in such a horrific way.
We also approach the statement almost with trepidation – because we again must address the murder of a Black man at the hands of police in America. These murders continue to happen over and over, many of them never acknowledged by the media, but enough so that we fear our nation is becoming desensitized. This should be a wakeup call.
It’s well past the time to ask why this continues happening, and face the hard truth that it is because our criminal justice system has origins in the racial persecution of Black Americans and intentional dehumanization of Black men. It allows for the abuse of power and lack of accountability which have been the hallmark of these terrible events.
It’s tempting to think that because the officers who murdered Tyre Nichols were also Black that means racism can’t be a motivator. But when we work within systems that are built around a racist structure, and take advantage of their inequities, we are complicit in their abuses.
Unfortunately, the majority of American social and political systems are built on a culture of White Supremacy which, more often than not, goes unacknowledged. This lends to the desensitization we feel when we are confronted with the news of another terrible tragedy like what happened in Memphis. When entire social structures are built upon intentional injustice, we become desensitized because we feel like there’s nothing we can do to make change.
In that light, we’d like to share ways to help Tyre’s family and to donate your time or money to organizations working toward police reform:
The GoFundMe started by the family of Tyre Nichols:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/tyre-nichols
Emancipate NC:
https://emancipatenc.org/
Campaign Zero:
https://campaignzero.org/
NAACP:
https://naacp.org/actions/action-alert-uniformed-police-reform
If you are an organizational leader, you are probably also wondering how you can help your staff and colleagues process their responses to these events. We suggest the following:
- Encourage open conversation on the impact of recent events and structural racism with your staff
- Encourage use of EAP, if available
- Give employees time and space to work through their emotions
- Recognize that employees may be re-experiencing trauma from times that have felt unsafe with law enforcement
Care Share Health Alliance hopes to never have to publish another statement like this. We do not want to see any more lives lost to police brutality. However, for that to be a reality, our country must be brave enough to face hard truths about the racist heritage of our law enforcement system and make changes that holds itself accountable for the safety of all Americans.
