Code Switch: Why Now, White People?

Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)

A 17-year-old young Black man who was killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Martin was walking to his father’s fiancé's house when Zimmerman saw him and called the police, reporting him as acting suspicious. Commentators have argued this report was based on Zimmerman’s racist beliefs, rather than any specific action taken by Martin. Zimmerman confronted Martin, shooting and killing him during the confrontation. Although Zimmerman was eventually charged, he was acquitted and faced no consequences for the killing. Protests occurred throughout the United States to demand justice and eliminate racial inequality.

Joel Acevedo (1990-2012)

A 21-year-old man who was shot by a police officer in Anaheim, California in 2012. Joel Acevedo was chased by police officers after he stole a car. Officers alleged that Acevedo had a gun, although witnesses disputed that statement. A Smith and Wesson .40 caliber gun was found at the scene, but some commentators argued a police officer planted the gun at the site of the shooting to justify the use of deadly force. Acevedo was killed one day after the shooting of Manuel Diaz by a different Anaheim police officer. Protests broke out in the city due to the community’s anger over the repeated shooting of Latino men by members of the Anaheim police department. Within one year, eight men had been killed by police officers in Anaheim.

Freddie Gray (1989–2015)

A 25-year-old Black man who was killed by police officers in Baltimore, Maryland in 2015. Gray was arrested despite not being involved in a criminal act and was placed in the back of a police van, during which time his neck was broken. Eventually he was taken to a hospital where he died due to the injuries sustained in the police van. Residents of Baltimore reacted to this police killing by organizing protests and staging an uprising against the police. While the officers present in the van were charged by the district attorney, none of them were convicted for their involvement in Gray’s wrongful arrest or death. Following Gray’s death, reporting by multiple news outlets revealed that police in Baltimore and elsewhere had a practice of “rough riding,” or intentionally jolting suspects around in the back of a police wagon in order to injure them without directly assaulting them.

Manuel Diaz (1987-2012)

A 25-year-old man who was shot by a police officer in Anaheim, California in 2012. Manuel Diaz was leaning into a car parked in an alley. A police officer believed that he was involved in a drug deal, and as the officer approached, Diaz ran. The officer chased Diaz and shot him twice, killing him. Various accounts of the shooting emerged, but the common fact is that Diaz was unarmed. Protesters gathered at the scene of the shooting, where a confrontation between the protesters and police officers erupted. Further protests occurred in the days that followed in Anaheim.

Philando Castile (1983-2016)

A 32-year-old Black man who was shot by a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota (a suburb of St. Paul) in 2016. He was pulled over during a traffic stop. While providing the police officer with his license and registration, he informed the officer that he had a gun in the car, which he was licensed to carry. The officer told Castile not to reach for the gun, and Castile followed the officer’s instructions. Regardless, the officer shot Castile five times, killing him; his girlfriend and her daughter were also in the car and witnessed the shooting. Protests occurred throughout the United States and charges were brought against the officer; however, he was acquitted and faced no legal consequences for the killing of Castile.

Eric Garner (1970-2014)

A 43-year-old Black man who was killed by police officers in New York City in 2014. He was arrested by the police for selling individual cigarettes. One of the arresting officers put Garner in an illegal chokehold and several additional officers pinned Garner to the ground. Garner called out 11 times stating that he was unable to breathe; however, he was not released from the chokehold until after the police officers had rendered him unconscious. This was captured on a cell phone video. Garner died after being transported to a hospital. The medical examiner determined Garner's death a homicide; however, no formal charges were brought against the officers. This led to protests throughout the United States.

George Floyd (1973-2020)

A Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police officers in May 2020. The officers arrested Floyd because he had been accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for approximately eight minutes, during which time Floyd repeated that he was unable to breathe. Floyd's death at the hands of the Minneapolis police led to massive protests against police brutality throughout the United States as well as in 60 other countries.

Rodney King (1965-2012)

A Black resident of Los Angeles who in 1992 led police on a high-speed chase. He was eventually pulled over and beaten by police officers. The brutal police beating was captured on video and broadcast on the national news. The officers, who were shown to have struck the driver over 50 times, were put on trial, but a nearly all-white jury acquitted them of all wrongdoing. Violence erupted over a period of six days marked by arson, assaults, and looting. This uprising, often referred to as the “LA riots,” highlighted the racial tensions that existed in America that resulted from a high poverty rate and economic desperation among many African Americans. In the aftermath of the riots, Americans elected a higher number of liberal politicians like President Bill Clinton, perhaps in the belief that they would implement effective solutions to reduce racial tension in America.

Stonewall

A bar located in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village in New York City. It was operated by the mafia, which realized it could profit by providing a space for patrons who were LGBTQ+ since most public spaces were not accepting of this group at the time. Police raided the bar on a regular basis to demean and mistreat the LGTBQ+ people who congregated there. On June 28, 1969, the patrons at the Stonewall fought back during a police raid, resulting in six days of violent conflict protesting police brutality. The Stonewall uprising is seen as a turning point in the gay rights movement, empowering many members of the LGBTQ+ community be more open with their sexual orientation and enlisting many non-LGBTQ+ people as allies to support their demands for equal rights.

Ferguson

A city in Missouri where Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man, was shot by a police officer in 2014. The officer claimed that Brown had initiated a physical altercation and attempted to take the officer’s gun. Brown’s friend Dorian Johnson witnessed the event and contradicts the officer’s account, asserting that the officer grabbed Brown by the neck and threatened him before shooting at him. According to Johnson, he and Brown fled, but the officer chased Brown and shot him even though his hands were raised and he exhibited no threat to the officer. The shooting of Michael Brown led to protests in Ferguson and around the nation calling for an end to police brutality. However, no immediate changes occurred, and the officer who shot Michael Brown did not face disciplinary action.

Demagoguery

A manner of leadership built on support that is established through manipulating people’s emotions and prejudices rather than through the use of logic or reasoning. Within the context of the podcast, co-host Shereen Marisol Meraji states that as President Donald Trump solidified his follower base by manipulating their prejudices, other white people began to see the issue of racial inequality more clearly, leading them to advocate for racial equality.

Reckoning

A moment when one's actions will be judged. In the context of the podcast, the phrase "racial reckoning" refers to the idea that many citizens of the United States are judging the impact of racism in American society and attempting to force institutions that perpetuate systemic racism to be less discriminatory.

White supremacist

A person who erroneously believes that people with white skin are superior to people who do not have white skin. Within the context of the podcast, a listener told co-host Gene Demby that from their point of view, President Donald Trump is a white supremacist, and for that reason the person felt compelled to advocate for racial justice.

Antiracist

A person who is opposed to racism, acts deliberately to eliminate discrimination based on race, and advocates for an end to racial inequality. Within the context of the podcast, the hosts consider that more white people are challenging racism because there is a level of status that can be achieved by being a part of the antiracist movement.

Policy advisor

A person who works for the government, a candidate running for office, a think tank or consulting group and provides advice on the decisions that elected officials need to make.

Alabaster

A soft white rock. In the context of the podcast, the term refers to places that are primarily inhabited by white people, such as the state of Vermont.

Sympathetic nervous system

A specific part of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, nerves and cells that transmit signals and information throughout the body) that regulates the body’s involuntary processes like heart rate acceleration and adrenaline production. It is in charge of many “fight-or-flight” response processes. In the podcast, social psychologist Dr. Nicole Fisher points out that the COVID-19 quarantine, which has disrupted typical life for many Americans, has triggered a sympathetic nervous system response which has made white Americans more stressed and uncomfortable, and therefore more willing to protest against racial inequality.

Stress hormones

Chemicals released during stressful experiences, such as adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine. These chemicals create a heightened sense of awareness in the short term, allowing us to get out of dangerous situations, but can cause stress and damage to the body and brain over the long term.

Detroit

City in Michigan that was the site of the Detroit Riot of 1967, a violent and destructive uprising that took place over six days. At that time, approximately 60,000 low-income Black people lived in a neighborhood called Virginia Park, where the police racially profiled the residents and subjected them to acts of brutality. This led to an uprising against the police which resulted in looting, arson, and attacks against the police officers and firefighters who arrived on the scene. Eventually, the governor deployed the National Guard to end the uprising. In the end, 43 people died, 1,189 were injured, 7,200 were arrested, and some 2,000 buildings were destroyed.

Compton's Cafeteria

Compton’s Cafeteria was a restaurant located in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, California; it became a hangout for transgender women in the 1960s. Staff at the restaurant believed that the presence of trans people was causing other customers to stay away, so management levied a special service charge on transgender customers, and members of the staff began verbally assaulting them, even calling the police to try to get them to leave. In 1966, as a police officer was attempting to arrest a trans woman at the restaurant, she allegedly threw hot coffee in his face. This act of defiance led to an uprising of LGBTQ+ people in San Francisco who would no longer accept being harassed and brutalized by police officers and members of the community who did not accept them. Three years later, the famous Stonewall uprising occurred in New York City, where members of the LGBTQ+ community engaged in violent clashes with the police over six days to protest police brutality against LGBTQ+ people.

Family separation

Detaining undocumented parents and children in separate facilities, typically before they are deported. This practice was implemented in 2018 by the Trump administration to punish and deter undocumented immigrants, including those who were entering the United States requesting asylum, which is a legal form of protection granted to someone who must flee their country of origin due to safety concerns. Information has since been uncovered that shows no plan was ever created to reunify the parents and their children, leading to a possibility they would never be reunited.

Muslim ban

Executive order signed in January 2017 by President Donald Trump, banning citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from traveling to the United States for a period of 90 days. Additionally, this order suspended the admission of all Syrians claiming refugee status. This exclusion is significant because a civil war was raging in Syria with widespread civilian casualties. Trump’s executive order was challenged at several levels of the judicial system. Multiple aspects of the ban were determined to be unconstitutional. It seems evident that the decision to ban people from these countries was largely due to prejudice; this was supported by the statements Trump himself made about people who practice Islam during his presidential campaign.

Charlottesville: "very fine people, on both sides"

In 2017, a two-day white supremacist and neo-Nazi rally known as “Unite the Right” was held in Charlottesville, Virginia. The organizers were protesting against the removal of Confederate statues and aimed to create an alliance among all white supremacist organizations. Counter-protestors rallied to demonstrate their opposition to racism and hatred. During this event, a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protestors, killing a counterprotester named Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. When asked to comment on the events that occurred at Charlottesville, President Trump responded by saying there are “very fine people on both sides.” Instead of repudiating the racist agenda of the white supremacists, the president portrayed them in a positive light; this choice has been interpreted by many as a reflection of the president’s prejudiced views.

Women's marches

Marches conducted by women to protest misogynistic statements made by President Donald Trump. The original Women's March occurred the day after Trump's inauguration in January 2017. The marches have continued to take place every year to advocate for women's rights and numerous other social reforms.

Watts

Neighborhood in Los Angeles that was the site of a violent and destructive uprising over six days in 1965. The Los Angeles police department had a history of acting with violence and discrimination toward Black residents. As a result, the Black community did not trust the police. After the police pulled over a Black man for reckless driving in the Watts neighborhood, an altercation broke out between Black residents and the police. The altercation escalated into six days of conflict in which 34 people died and 3,438 people were arrested. To put an end to the uprising, 14,000 members of the California Army National Guard were deployed. This uprising highlighted the vast inequality of economic opportunities for Black and white Americans.

Virtue signal

Sharing one's point of view on a social or political issue to gain praise from others. One of the women interviewed on the podcast, Carrie, suggests that although some of the support for racial equality may be done to gain praise, there can still be a beneficial effect to it if it becomes a genuine action.

Black Lives Matter

Social movement founded in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors to protest police brutality and racially motivated violence against Black people. The immediate event that led to the formation of this movement was the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who had shot and killed an unarmed 17-year-old boy named Travyon Martin. The jury arrived at a “not guilty” verdict after Zimmerman’s lawyer argued that Zimmerman had been confronted by Martin and killed him in self-defense. Due to this miscarriage of justice, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter began trending on social media, and people who supported this movement began demonstrating to protect the lives of African Americans from racially-motivated violence.

ICE raids

Sudden, targeted, and forceful action taken by groups of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Latinx communities for purposes of detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants. As a consequence of these raids, podcast co-host Shereen Marisol Meraji explains that Latinx people have been unable to move freely in their communities. Therefore, while the quarantine may have disrupted the status quo for white people, being unable to move about freely in the world is not new to members of the Latinx community.

President Donald Trump

The 45th president of the United States. From the perspective of his detractors, much of his presidential campaign and policies as president have been based on overt and covert racist dogma. Some examples cited in the podcast include his comments that there were “very fine people on both sides” of a white supremacist rally and counterprotest in Charlottesville in 2017 and his attempts to ban Muslims from immigrating to the United States.

Macro level

The broadest perspective from which an event can be analyzed. Within the context of the podcast, co-host Gene Demby shared a message from a listener who stated they previously believed that, somehow, large institutions in society would work out issues of racial inequality; the listener now believes individual actions are essential to eliminating racial inequality.

Civil disobedience

The nonviolent refusal to obey laws or government orders that are considered to be unjust. Within the context of the podcast, this phrase is used to refer to the nationwide protests against police brutality.

Capitol Hill

This term is a figure of speech that refers to the United States Congress. One of the podcast guests, Nicole Fisher is a social psychologist and policy advisor to congressional officials; she explains why the coronavirus might have created fertile conditions for protest movements to take off.

Latinx

This term is used to refer to people of Latin American origin. By using the letter “x” at the end of the word, it provides a gender-neutral method of referring to a person of Latin American origin rather than the gendered term “Latino” or “Latina.”