“Overcoming racism compels us to address public policies and private attitudes that perpetuate it.” – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 2011
Did you know that Wednesday, March 21st marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination? This day is marked every year on March 21st – on this day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid “pass laws”. Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
Since then, the apartheid system in South Africa – a system of racial segregation enforced through legislation – has been dismantled. Racist laws and practices have been abolished in many countries, and an international framework has been built for fighting racism, guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Convention is now nearing universal ratification, yet still, in all regions, too many individuals, communities, and societies suffer from the injustice and stigma that racism brings.
The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reminds us of our collective responsibility for promoting and protecting this ideal.
Taken from the United Nations website at http://www.un.org/en/events/racialdiscriminationday.
Although awareness and conversation are important, we know that racism is more complicated than one day of recognition and discussion allows. How do you experience racism in your own life? How do you take responsibility for eliminating racism in your social networks and community? What changes do you think need to happen in your schools, your workplaces, and your city that would really help put an end to racial discrimination?