We’re Philly civil rights leaders: We face a standard enemy in white supremacy. We should combat it collectively | Opinion

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 6: A pro-Trump mob breaks into the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 victory over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the votes of multiple states’ electoral college unless Congress appointed a commission to review election results. (Photo by Win McNamee / Getty Images)

By Andrea Custis, James Elam, Lisa Finkelstein, Shira Goodman, Jared Jackson and Eva Porter

Two issues have frequently emerged in the public consciousness since the January 6 attack on the US Capitol: the role of systemic racism in fueling the attempted insurrection and the demand for unity among its wake.

While unity is an important and desirable goal, it can only happen in conjunction with accountability and change – we need to unite not through mere platitudes, but with the specific common goal of not only combating white supremacy in the form that it is at January 6th has taken, but also in the many other forms that it takes.

As leaders in organizations serving black communities, Latinx communities, colored Jews, and broader Jewish communities, we know that we face a common enemy in white supremacy and that we must face it together.

The domestic terrorists who attacked our Capitol wore racist and anti-Semitic clothing, recorded their attack, and marched triumphantly through the halls of the Capitol building with a Confederate flag. This mixture of racism and anti-Semitism was neither a coincidence nor a coincidence.

They wanted an audience. The ideology of the white supremacists depends on the humiliation of blacks, other colored people and Jews. The goal of the January 6 attack was not just to assert political power. It should assert white power and create fear, anxiety and stress in these communities.

Our communities. While we are not a monolith and each person had their own emotional response to what happened, most of us also understood that we were the intended audience for this attack, with a message intended as a warning or threat of future harm. This failed uprising is a clear sign that we – people of color and Jews of all races – are facing a common threat.

If we are to address the threat of white supremacist extremism, we must consider how and where it thrives. The power structures that made this failed insurgency possible are the same ones that perpetuate systemic racism in the United States.

This can be seen in the way the rioters behaved.

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It seems that more and more information is coming out every day suggesting significant attacks were involved in this attack, but almost none of the rioters covered their faces, and they brazenly recorded themselves and each other as they revealed their names. Now they seem largely surprised that their actions have serious legal ramifications.

This is what it looks like when people who have always benefited from systems that have given them power and privilege are encouraged by their own sense of grievance: They are so sure of their own position that they cannot imagine the consequences.

This is what it looks like when people who have never had reason to fear the police commit a collective act of domestic terrorism: It doesn’t occur to them that law enforcement may not always be on their side.

While a conversation about the different treatment of the rioters by law enforcement agencies began and needs to continue on Jan. 6, compared to the treatment of the Black Lives Matter protesters last year, a larger conversation needs to be had about the different treatment, mostly Being carried out by the rioters White rioters have gotten over the course of their lives compared to blacks, indigenous peoples and other colored people.

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The problem goes much deeper than “a few bad apples” or individual law enforcement errors, although these certainly need to be addressed. The problem is structural and not only important to law enforcement, but also to education, healthcare, the economy, and any other system that affects people’s lives. We cannot hope to successfully combat white supremacist extremists unless we also address the context in which their ideology was forged, which means combating systemic racism at all levels.

We have built on the Capitol Rebellion for years, with a feverish acceleration in recent months. We have watched hatred, anger and entitlement unleash in deeply disturbing ways. The threats and dangers remain and will not end with the inauguration of a new president.

The problem is ingrained and requires real work, commitment, and a willingness to break down its foundations. We must work to combat the threats we collectively face, because only in this way can we truly hope to defeat white supremacy in the long term. Yes, we have to fight extremism – but if we want to be effective we also have to fight the systemic racism that encourages it.

We need to support reform and investment plans that make real change and identify and push back the policies that will block progress.

Let’s equip our community members with the tools they need to exercise the right to vote and petition the government so that creative solutions aren’t just available to the powerful and resources. If we unite on the common goal of empowering our communities and fighting systemic racism now, we can make this land better for all members of the next generation.

Andrea Custis writes on behalf of the Urban League of Philadelphia. James Elam & Lisa Finkelstein write on behalf of the Black-Jewish Alliance of the ADL. Shira Goodman writes on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, Philadelphia Area. Jared Jackson writes in ALL colors on behalf of the Jews. And Eva Porter is writing on behalf of LULAC Philadelphia.