#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd and more

There was a shimmer of hope when Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States. Sadly, Americans today are still judged by the “colour of their skin” and not by the “content of their character”.

Martin Luther King Jr’s dream has yet to find its way through the fog of hate ever since he marched alongside the oppressed over three days for about 90km, from Selma, Alabama to the capital city, Montgomery, in 1965.

I used to show clips of the freedom march and MLK’s speech in my class on race reporting for a comparative context of how the indigenous people of Australia are likewise subject to disproportionate incarceration, police brutality and deaths in custody.

I had two teaching points. First, as the conscience of the people, journalists are duty-bound to expose systemic racism and write about it. Discard journalistic "neutrality", as to remain silent is to condone it.

And secondly, ethnocultural identity can give one a sense of collective strength and communal pride. Yet, the source of pride that borders on blatant racism can sometimes kill – and kill abundantly with impunity. This too must be exposed.

That was the unreported harsh reality in many countries – predominantly in the colonial West - where the indigenous communities, immigrants and slaves were not recognised as proper people with proper rights and freedoms.

I see shades of this racist history in the disheartening visual of George Floyd’s dying gasps as his face was pinned to the ground under the knees of a white police officer.

My mind reeled back to the evils of Jim Crow lynchings in the US Deep South, as depicted in the film Mississippi Burning, the injustice of the US justice system (To Kill a Mockingbird), the freedom riders and King’s freedom march in the 60s, Rodney King keeled over from the brutal beating by Los Angeles police officers in 1991, and much more as exposed in the empowered racist resurgence over four Trumpian years.

Racism propelled by supremacists and officers of the law will tear any nation apart through conflicts driven by economic inequities, health/wealth inequality, and blatant disregard for the lives of the underprivileged.

Malaysia is not immune to this virus. In fact, the infection has long begun. Belying the superficially calm state of our federation lays simmering discontent. This discontent will continue as long as the state continues to see its people through racial lenses instead of citizens with constitutional rights to equitable socio-economic opportunities.

The senseless death of George Floyd should prompt us to examine our own ethnocultural disposition and our private racist stereotypes of the "other", which we can inadvertently transfer to our children. The children who may then grow up seeing and treating the "other" the way we do.

Kevin Loo, my son and a music journalist, recently reflected on the need for the young generation to step up and speak out against systemic racism through the lens of pop culture and music from his base in Prague. I am re-publishing below extracts from his article:

" … Very few of us will ever have to face the same experience that Black America faces every waking moment. I’m a first-generation born Malaysian-Chinese-Australian living in the Czech Republic. What could I possibly know of police brutality?

I started deadest.press as a platform to examine the deeper context of society through the lens of pop culture and music. Hip-hop has played a major role in that, particularly in the last five to ten years.

Hip-hop resonates across cultural, racial and language barriers. It has become the main currency that global pop culture trades in today, infiltrating everywhere from isolated, rural Slovakia to mega-cities like Seoul and Shanghai.

As an international community, we watch what’s transpiring in the US with both abject horror and fascination. How do we respond? Sharing on social media, donating to civil rights groups, reading and staying informed... is that enough?"

As lovers of hip-hop, the issue goes a little deeper. Alongside the obvious social media posts and sharing of showing support, another sentiment has emerged:

DeVita💝

@lilchoster

They love black culture but don’t give a shit about black people or the black community - May 31, 2020

Hip-hop was birthed out of oppression. Hip-hop is political by definition. As hip-hop spreads in global popularity and is increasingly accepted by the mainstream, some of that heritage is lost on the next generation of music fans.

"Conscious rap" will never have the same widespread appeal as the Tekashi 6ix9ines or Lil Pumps of the world. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try to educate one another. Through the lyrics of (various black rap) artistes … I have learned so much about the experience of the "other" (and myself).

We have two choices. To be a mere consumer of black culture. Or to meaningfully engage with it. Are you in it just for the hype? Or do you appreciate the fact that history often weighs so heavy on the human being behind the mic and slick production?

Of course, continue to listen to your favourite artistes. But speak out against racism and injustice. Don’t just bump a tune and sneak in an "n-word" when no one’s around. Read the news, sign petitions, volunteer… hell, punch a Nazi if it ever comes to it. The time is over to be quietly not racist. Be actively anti-racist.

But we have no right to continue consuming hip-hop or appropriating black culture without acknowledging the ongoing struggle of our fellow human beings who are simply fighting for their own breath.

As an Australian, it does feel like George Floyd is a very foreign and distant concept because it is. For a lot of us, these issues are "out of sight, out of mind".

However, there is a responsibility for us to respond on a local scale. It’s that old cliché that does carry truth to it - think global, act local… in that regard, that is something I am working on.

For a clearer understanding of why people across the world are protesting for #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd, here’s an annotated list of books on how to engage with racist establishments, and stoic advice on standing up and speaking out against systemic racism at home and abroad.

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ERIC LOO is the founding editor of the academic journal Asia Pacific Media Educator. - Mkini