The Systemic Racism We Battle Everyday
When we created Guarding the Bridge in 2018, we had no idea how big the conversation around Systemic Racism would become.
What is Systemic Racism
Systemic Racism is when the laws and regulations are built in a manner that discriminates against a certain section of society. Systemic Racism makes itself known as discrimination in the areas of criminal justice, housing, healthcare, education, etc. Systemic Racism is hard to identify when viewed in isolation but its impact is devastating. It holds back a section of society and robs them of equal opportunities. Whilst, some people think that this may benefit other sections of the same society, it really does not. Holding people back breeds resentment and pushes them to make choices that may involve criminal behavior. Think of it as creating a situation and then punishing people for responding to it.
The Damage Caused by Systemic Racism
As we all witnessed the numerous people that called the police on Black people for simply, existing, we were forced to examine the implicit bias that exists in our society. All of these people claim that they did not call the police with the intention to harm these people but in light of the recent protests about the treatment of Black people, they did recognize that they were endangering the lives of these people. Yet, the entitlement of being someone who doesn’t need to consider consequences enabled them to use the system to risk the lives of innocent people.
How Ripple Effect Artists Is Empowering Change
Each of our productions is geared towards empowering social change and recent events such as those mentioned above remind us of Guarding the Bridge. This play took a look at the conversation between a father and a son the day Martin Luther King was assassinated. He told his son that he must protect his family from Black people and in saying so instilled fear in his son. He perpetuated the belief that in showing emotions, black people were somehow turning into a danger to society. That by existing in this world, they are endangering the lives of all white folks and must be “dealt with”. This is precisely the attitude that allowed the murder of several innocent Black people and this is precisely what we aim to address through productions such as these.
Systemic Racism is gnawing away at our society and nothing changes until we change. Join our journey for empowering social change by following our upcoming productions and announcements on taking action here.
Jessie Fahay for Ripple Effect Artists. Jessie is an actress, playwright and author who is heavily invested in bringing about societal change through the dramatic arts. After years of working in Educational Theatre, as a public speaker, actress, author, graduate student, and her work with Landmark Education and United Global Shift, she has developed an even stronger commitment to making a difference through her love of theatre and appreciation for theatre-education as a vehicle. Thus, Ripple Effect Artists was conceived. With a committed team of Board Members, Actors, Directors, and Theatre Lovers, Jessie has seen her wish of pushing audiences from apathy to action come together and hopes to continue inspiring change in generations to come.
