While we are is still reeling from the racial reckoning that shook our entire country in the summer of 2020, Tonya Allen reflects on the killing of Amir Locke and the justice system’s inability to prevent loss of life in a personal essay for MinnPost. Below is an excerpt of the piece.
Light only arrives after darkness, peace after pain, and bounty after sowing. Our community will have to be broken like a bone before we can heal, build new muscle memory and range of motion, and experience the awkward stiffness of doing things differently; equitably.
Even amid pain and uncertainty, our community must lift out of the abyss and focus on designing the future, because we cannot afford to wait to co-create the society we all deserve. This future must go beyond the narrow question of whether a Black man can sleep on a friend’s couch without fear of being killed. This future must make available safe, affordable housing and jobs with living wages in healthy conditions, relish the democratic participation of everyone, and ensure all can enjoy the benefits of a thriving and sustainable economy and realize their aspirations.
The nation’s eyes are on Minnesota—eyes brimming with incredulity, hurt, and uncertainty. This is a time when CEOs, civic leaders and residents can unify their voices and efforts to demand, architect, and marshal this more equitable future. If we do the hard, uncomfortable work now, then hopefully, all eyes will be on Minnesota as we imagine, change, enact and lead the country toward justice; eyes shining with wonder, possibility, and American promise.
