I was born in 1963 to a family near Evelyn Davis Park in Des Moines. It was the year of the Birmingham church bombing and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
But as a child, I wasn’t aware of racism or race. I was just a blissful, smart, creative Black girl. Then in 1968, my brother and I became some of the first children to be bused out of our Black neighborhood to the then all-white Hillis Elementary.
Learning Lessons in Racism
Overall, it was a positive experience. It wasn’t until I graduated from college and went to work in the corporate world that I learned too well what racism was all about through many microaggressions and snide remarks.
Over the decades, I saw my state and my country make progress in reducing systemic racism and discrimination in housing, voting, education, and employment. It was slow, but it happened.
Then in the 1980s, with the war on drugs— which was really a war against Black America—I saw things start to change for the worse.
Today, our policies and laws are taking us backward and erasing the progress that was fought so hard for. It has been two steps forward and now four steps back.
Iowa currently ranks seventh-worst among states in prison racial disparities. Black people make up only 4 percent of Iowa’s population but roughly 25 percent of its prison population.
Policing continues to have grave racial disparities. For example, if you’re a Black driver in Des Moines, you’re three times more likely to be stopped by police than a white driver.
In 2024, 35 percent of all arrests in Des Moines for marijuana possession were of Black people, yet they make up only 11 percent of the population.
There are serious racial economic disparities, too. In Polk County, around a third of the Black community has incomes below the federal poverty threshold, 4.5 times the rate of the white community. Statewide and national statistics aren’t much better.
Yet I’m optimistic. Life for Black people in America has always been a struggle. If we are nothing else, we are resilient. And we’ve consistently fought for the justice, respect, and equity we deserve. Our humanity is God-given and not something another human can bestow or deny.
Again, We Can Make Progress
I am convinced that just in the same way we made so much progress decades ago, we can continue that work and improve on it. It’s one reason that I have become involved in racial justice advocacy work. Taking action gives me a way to set aside my disappointment and my righteous anger with our current government leaders.
How can we Americans resist growing fascism? Do something! The power is with the people. We need every single person to do something right now. So take action, even if it’s small. And keep doing it.
A Call to Action
Call or email your local, state, and federal representatives and tell them what you want done. Be informed and stay engaged with local politics like city council and school board. Donate to organizations and candidates who align with your personal values and beliefs, even if it’s a modest amount.
Boycott greedy corporations who hurt communities of color. Believe in the power of we the people. Continue to be kind and respectful. If you believe in God, pray!
Frederick Douglass said, “Power concedes nothing without demand. It never has and it never will.” It is hope, faith, and determination that have allowed Black people to survive and thrive for centuries.
We all need to engage and make America better.
Photo courtesy of Mark Looney.