Much has happened in the weeks since my last entry. We continued to memorialize Michael Jackson after I wrote about this case of a another celebrity succumbing to the price of fame. The push for healthcare then dominated the political news and now this week, we focus on the issue of race. I have dedicated much time in my community over the past 8 months, engaging in efforts to advocate for social justice and inclusion. In doing work professionally on prevention and public health issues, I know that our communities do not really begin to focus on many serious issues until a tragedy or controversial event reaches the public's attention. In this case we are now focusing on racial profiling among law enforcement and the impact it has had on communities of color. After the arrest of African American Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates at his home in Cambridge Masschussets, the continued friction between law enforcement and communities of color ensued. Obama was compelled to clarify his remark  saying that the Cambridge Police acted stupidly by calling it a "teachable moment." What does this mean? I feel it emphasizes the need to learn from our history and acknowledge that problems exist, contributing to both parties on either side to over react; highlighting that this still remains a systemic issue.   

                                                                                   

What do we do from here? My hope is that once this issue dies down in the media, we will not just return back to how things were. In the fight for policy reform, advocates can take advantage of situations like this to mobilize the community and facilitate action. How can we do this? We must engage in dialogue. On the local level, law enforcement and their constituents should come together to share view points and make reccomendations for action. These reccomendations must then go to local leaders and produce a proposal for institutional change. Continued acknowledgement that this is a subject of concern and we must examine how the past has impacted the present, is the basis for a need to do something.

Obama was criticized for commenting on what was said to be a local issue. However, what he shed light on is that a local issue allowed this country to reflect on a national problem. Thus in moving forward, we must bring the work back to the local level and continue to share within and between communities, the change that we are implementing in our own back yards. Systemic and institutional change will take much time, yet we can use the strategies mentioned above over the long term. A community forum and recommendations for action are starting points that will transfer this work into our existing structures on the local level. This topic of interest can become a priority on our boards, councils, city governments and grass roots organizing movements. As we all learned from the eight years past, unless we exercise our freedom to speak and act, we cannot see the change we know we want that is based upon problems from yesterday persisting today.