Why Sustainable Development and Black Lives Matter Are Inseparable

Image Source: https://haitiliberte.com/led-by-haitian-drummers-thousands-rally-in-brooklyn-against-police-brutality/

As a middle-class white man in America, I live with unending privilege, boundless advantages and societal immunity.

Like so many people that are a part of the P4H family, my experience with sustainable development and Haiti have changed the way I view the world around me. In this moment, I can’t help but realize that P4H not only taught me how to be an advocate for the Haitian people, but for Black lives everywhere.

When P4H co-founders Bertrhude and Priscilla first traveled to Haiti in 2011, they brought hundreds of pounds of clothing and food in an attempt to be helpful in a country that was just ravaged by an earthquake. When they arrived, community leaders pulled them aside, thanked them for trying to help, and gave them an unexpected message. 

‘You are hurting us.’ 

‘You are crippling our community.’

‘We never asked you for these things, this is not what we need from you.’

Bertrhude and Priscilla reacted to that moment in a way that someone like me probably wouldn’t have. They never thought that this message was misguided. They never asked for proof that their efforts weren’t helping. They never assumed that they understood the problem better than those who were experiencing it.

Instead, they listened.

Listening, learning, accepting your flaws and committing to doing better isn’t just morally the right thing to do. Logically, it is the only thing that makes sense to do. To do anything else is to deny the experience and question the judgement of those who have lived in a reality that you will never inhabit.

If you have been a part of the P4H journey, you likely view this experience as a transformational one. A moment in which you realized that your knowledge of the world was limited, and that those who live under a particular set of circumstances understand them in a way that you never will. A moment in which you grasped that the solution to a problem lies within the minds of those who experience it every day.

Today is June 16th, 2020. We continue to see Black lives taken in front of our eyes, one after another. On February 23rd, Ahmaud Arbery was murdered while jogging. March 13th, Breonna Taylor was murdered by police in her own apartment. May 25th, George Floyd was murdered under the knee of a police officer as he begged for his life. June 12th, Rayshard Brooks was murdered by police in a Wendy’s parking lot.

Since the death of George Floyd, millions of Black Americans have led efforts to raise awareness of police brutality, address personal and systemic racism and propose solutions that will stop the unnecessary taking of their lives. In the wake of this movement, far too many people, most of whom look like me, are failing to listen. Thinking that the message is misguided, asking for proof that racism exists and assuming that they understand the problem better than those who are living under our knees - pleading for their lives.

We are failing to listen. We are denying the experience and questioning the judgement of those who live every moment of their lives in a reality that we do not inhabit. Our opinions, our judgements and our proposed solutions are not needed right now. What we need to do is listen. 

The solutions to a racist society lie within the minds of those who experience it every day.

Black Lives Matter.

Black Minds Matter.

Black Solutions Matter.