Optimism filled the air Friday as Black Lives Matter activist Opal Tometi spoke about the movement and state of violence against black people.
As a first-generation American born to Nigerian parents, Tometi said she experienced racism and anti-immigrant sentiment firsthand. In response, she decided to dedicate her time to social justice through open communication.
“Words matter. Entire ideologies come to life in words, and unless we’re able to take hold of language and name things we need to name, we’ll constantly be dizzying ourselves, fighting the ideological structures, without getting to the root cause of the problem,” Tometi said.
In 2013, she joined the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of Trayvon Martin and not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman, which Tometi describes as an embodiment of state violence.
“State violence means that black people feel the effects of structural racism every day in the U.S. and across the globe,” Tometi said. “It’s not just about the interpersonal racism on an individual level, it’s systematic.”
While Tometi, Young, Gifted and Black leaders and other members of the community said there is still work to be done to subvert state violence and racism, they remain optimistic about progress being made on campuses and in cities.
UW-Madison senior Taylor Scott said helping educate others on issues of racism and state violence can make Madison a better place for black people.
“On a primarily white campus, white people can transform their guilt into something constructive, because right now their guilt is just distracting from the Black Lives Matter movement,” Scott said.
Young, Gifted and Black leader Alix Shabazz said the city should invest in black leadership.
“We want instead an investment in black-led initiatives here in Madison; we feel like as black people we have self-determination to free ourselves, and people should invest in that,” Shabazz said.
Tometi says while there is a long road to racial integrity, it can be achieved.
“If we uplift and substantialize the issues of those community members who are most acutely impacted and living at the margins, we’ll all get close to justice, to real justice for all of us,” Tometi said.
