Ah, intellectual honesty, one of the best kinds (“Clark County could declare systemic racism a public health crisis,” The Columbian, Nov. 6).
I trust the Clark County Council will meet in December to discuss systemic racism, and I respectfully and wholeheartedly request that each councilor read “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson before their discussion (maybe a council book study would be good).
If we in the dominant caste (one can tell by simply looking) believe that systemic racism does not clearly connect to health outcomes (including our own) we are sadly mistaken.
As one of Wilkerson’s best metaphors informs, even though we were not there when America’s “house” was first constructed, we’re living there now and we are all responsible for its maintenance and repair. There are still cracks in the foundation and drafts around the windows.
