Second day of peaceful Freddie Gray protest in Baltimore. Demotix/ Angel Mayas. All rights reserved.In the months following a police officer’s killing of unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown, on August 9, 2014 something changed. Ferguson, Missouri quickly became the improbable backdrop for the beginning of a movement that propelled the American nation into a debate on race and inequality within our communities. As more instances of civil resistance are being publicized, leading US universities are also beginning to offer courses on The Ferguson Movement. And it’s true, Ferguson sparked greater appreciations of racial, cultural, and political sensitivities in the US, an awareness that also resonated internationally.
These issues have not emerged only recently after all, and they will continue to manifest. However, they are emerging more prominently and easily through other mediums, such as social media. This is evident, amongst other things, in the series of hash-tags surfacing in recent months. #Dontgunmedown, for example, is visible on the mural on the first floor at The Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. Mainstream media sources no longer have a monopoly on the news, so more information is getting out, representing a plurality of views. But it’s important that we don’t let this opportunity to take on institutionalized racism become just a moment in our society.
To prolong the moment, laws, policies, and regulations promulgated at the federal, state, and local-level could start by placing greater emphasis on economic, social, and cultural human rights. We are ensured the right to vote; can we also be ensured the right to equal, high quality education and healthcare? The United States has a way to go, but could start by ratifying ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. We are one of few countries, including Comoros, Cuba, and Palau, which have not ratified the treaty.
