In refusing to let America forget her asthmatic father’s death at the hands of a New York cop using an illegal chokehold, Erica Garner seized the narrative that writes history. Dead at 27 after a heart attack, her persistence and zeal apparently has taken its toll.
You see, racism has reverberations that go far beyond an event. Racist acts, like the choking death of Eric Garner, incite ongoing anger, frustrations, fear, depression and health complications. We don’t know for sure what Erica Garner’s health story was, but in the wake of the deep injuries of racism, we can say for sure society has a way of forgetting the most egregious acts of Black suffering.
So in this sense, forgetting is a key component to anti-Black racism.
What we remember or forget about racism gives meaning to present-day issues. For example, without knowing the long U.S. history of housing segregation, one can presume the lack of diversity in schools and neighborhoods is a matter of choice. Forgetting is particularly problematic for young people of color. Without a collective memory of racism’s impact on income, housing and education, young people assume what they lack in learning or economic opportunity, and access is their fault or that of their communities.
I see this play out in my classroom at the University of Texas at Austin when I ask students if they’ve ever heard about Rodney King, kicked 56 times in 81 seconds by four Los Angeles police officers in 1991. Viral footage of the beating was one of few times violence toward an African-American male was so plainly captured.
An overwhelming number of them have never heard of King: So that means they didn’t know about the cops’ acquittal nor the six days of unrest that ensued afterward when L.A. burned, 63 people died, 12,000 were arrested and property damage topped $1 billion.
This always stands out because it illustrates how one of the most effective ways to mold public perception is to allow the past to fade from the consciousness of future generations.
