Author Archives: zw

Using Systems Thinking to Break Down Racial Disparities

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With the outcry against police brutality and the long fight to break down systemic racism, it has been made clear that the issues of race have not been solved in America. It is my opinion, and I’m sure many others would agree, that even if there was no racist person and the systems of today remained, systemic racism would still be real. In this class we’ve learned about systemic racism in the food system, articulated most clearly during the Race, Class and Gender in the Food System unit. We learned that “racial disparity in wages and representation can be found in most occupations along the food chain” (color of food reading). We were reminded in class that inequalities against black people are magnified over time due to the foundation of most systems in this country, and that 80% of wealth accumulation depends upon intergenerational transfers. But because of slavery, and the systems that ensued once it was “abolished”, that intergenerational wealth was stolen from black people. Understanding systemic racism is to use systems thinking to trace all the way back to the way black people were forced into this country. It is to trace back to slavery, to the 13th amendment and its loopholes, to prison camps and prison labor, to Jim Crowe laws, to the Civil Rights movement, the War on Drugs, modern slavery and private prisons, and so much more. Systemic racism is not just seen in policing. It can probably be seen in every aspect of society including the prison system, military system, the world food system, education, housing, employment, wealth, government surveillance, immigration policy, the list goes on. America, the “land of the free” has 2.3 million people imprisoned, of which are disproportionately black and non-black people of color, who have no liberty.

To understand systemic racism is for everyone to realize the racial trauma of black people in America, to use systems thinking to understand the history that led to this moment and to current systems, to reflect on how we (white people and/or non-black people of color) have perpetuated systemic racism, and how we have benefited from systemic racism. Our goal must be to recognize the ancestral DNA within us that directly links us to the problem and build reparations, among many other things. What is happening right now and will continue to happen until racist systems are changed, is collective karma for the brutality and inequities placed upon black people not only in this country, but the world. It is time for a change.

Capitol Hill Protests – Businesses standing in solidarity

Seeding Interdependence

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In school I learn without very much self-reflection and introspection. In this class, contemplative practices have challenged me to consider myself in what I am learning, and to make greater connections past what could be just taken at face-value. I always thought growing up meant becoming more independent. An outcome of this for me has been that I have developed a fear of connectivity. I took independence so literally that dependency felt like weakness. Throughout all of the contemplative practices and the lessons in this class, something has become very clear to me. There is no such thing as independence in a world like ours. From the interdependence in each of our bodies, to the interdependence of the earth system, the soil, food systems, supply chain system, and really the interdependence between all systems. The move towards interdependent thinking rather than independent thinking has given me more meaning to my own body, and my body’s connection to this earth and everything in it. The connection between the food I eat, the store I got it in, where the store got it from, how it was transported, who transported it, who processed it, who picked it, where it grew, where the seeds came from, inequalities along the way, laws associated with property rights, workers’ rights, trade, and the implications and impacts of all of this on our world and the people in it. Through the contemplative practices I have begun to embrace that there is connection and interdependence everywhere I look. The earth is a system, which is why we must begin to think more holistically, more connectively, and garner the willingness to change. The earth is a complex system, constantly undergoing adaptive cycles. Our bodies come from earth, belong to the earth, and will go back to the earth. The earth sustains us, we must adapt to it rather than make it adapt to us because in the end, we need the earth but it does not need us.

A Sad Reality for Migrant Farmworkers in America

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In the United States 47 to 70% of 2.4 million farmworkers are undocumented. Undocumented farmworkers already faced adversity before Covid-19. Living in horrible housing conditions, working in labor camps, receiving questionable pay, exposure to pesticides, generally high rates of diabetes, little access to medical care, and discrimination are just some examples of the sad reality for migrant farmworkers in America. As Covid-19 continues to impact every part of society, migrant farmworkers are facing exploitation and possible public health disaster more than ever before.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images via https://fortune.com/2020/04/03/farmworkers-coronavirus-essential-workers-covid-19-agriculture/

Considering the history of exploitation of undocumented farmworkers in America, the coronavirus has put an already vulnerable group at an even higher risk, and on track to a public health and human rights disaster. Because labor camps have very little space to make social distancing possible, an outbreak is more likely to occur. Many undocumented workers are left without information about the virus from their employers, and without proper personal protection equipment and training for disinfecting or what to do when feeling ill.

Farmworkers are essential, and are now being recognized as “heroes”. But I would argue that in the context of Covid-19, they are martyrs. Undocumented farmworkers have little options, and are basically forced to accept the danger and risk in order to continue feeding America and the rest of the world, who until now didn’t even consider the conditions that workers have faced for many years. Undocumented farmworkers have little workers’ rights, little pay, little protection, little access to healthcare, and very little gratitude from the rest of society. It is apparent that undocumented farmworkers need and deserve better than what they have been given. Now is the time to protect those who have protected us for so long, with economic support, better access to health-care and worker protections, amongst many other reparations.

Additional Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/31/during-covid-19-pandemic-immigrant-farmworkers-are-heroes/

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03042020/covid-farmworkers-california-climate-change-agriculture

https://fortune.com/2020/04/03/farmworkers-coronavirus-essential-workers-covid-19-agriculture/