Have you ever tried to do a large puzzle? I’m not talking about one of those wood-framed ones with eight pieces; I’m talking about a 1,000-piece puzzle that you have to spread out over a large table and invest hours to complete. Imagine then that this tiny little issue of racism, systemic racism more precisely, is that large puzzle…and each little piece of that puzzle is one experience you have with that institution that informs your view of it. All of us have at least a couple of pieces, whether it be through our school studies, watching a documentary, or witnessing an act of prejudice. But as we all know, a few pieces of a puzzle do not form an entire picture.

I consider myself to be a well-informed researcher of African-American, or black, studies. I have always held an interest in topics of social injustice. I have taken classes, I have sought out more information on my own through theory, books, art, and documentaries, and I have held purposeful and enlightening conversations with people of color whose individual experiences shed light on the problem first-hand. I feel I hold a significant portion of that puzzle together to show the larger picture that informs my knowledge and awareness of how systemic racism works in this country…through politics, media, economics, and law & order. But I wouldn’t elevate myself to scholar. I could never put myself on the same level as Henry Louis Gates Jr., Bell Hooks, Toni Morrison, or Michelle Alexander, for example. They have dedicated their lives to this particular scholarship. But I’d like to think that I have a fairly accurate picture in front of me that helps to mold my worldview.

Systemic racism is just one example of the myriad of issues we face in this country. I bring this particular issue to the table because I feel strongly that one cannot talk about politics without understanding how race is central to the evolution of policy in this country. With that said, it is extremely important to be well-informed when contributing to a conversation about what is happening in our country at this current moment. If you don’t have enough pieces of a puzzle, you can’t possibly understand all the dynamics at play. It is in these instances that I feel one should be doing the following: asking questions, reading literature, investing time around circles of people that are impacted by that particular issue. There should be more listening going on, more dialogue, so that we seek to understand all of the elements at play. I feel that on certain issues I am qualified to contribute to conversations; in other areas, I ask a lot more questions and seek out information in order to understand how issues are impacted by a variety of factors outside my current level of expertise.

I feel that with television, social media, and a celebrity-obsessed culture, we are losing some of our love and desire for learning and for accurate information. Television and social media are not inherently bad things; they provide us multiple platforms with which to receive valuable information. But we must hold those tools up to a higher standard rather than just exploiting issues, people, or ourselves, and use them to help our communities. We should use these platforms to become beacons of integrity, positivity, and inspiration. Becoming that beacon of light begins at home, in our own bodies, and how we represent ourselves through these platforms. I always strive to be authentic first and foremost. If I am trying to portray myself in a light that is not authentic to who I am, I take a step back and assess my motivation. If I am not being authentic, it means I am trying to hide some part of myself. It is important to allow ourselves to be vulnerable sometimes and show all sides of our humanity. As the brilliant psychologist and researcher, Brene Brown says, ““Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.” We cannot get to truth and integrity without being vulnerable sometimes. I try to show myself in an accurate light so that I am humanized, just as I try to humanize those who are disenfranchised and struggling in an oppressive society. Without seeing that humanity, there is no room for connection. Without connection to another human being, we will never be able to unify as a society. Without authenticity, social media breeds divisiveness and competition over unity and cooperation. It breeds an environment where people seek to cut each other down and prove one’s own stance on issues rather than seeking to understand and bridging that knowledge gap that fills in the pieces of any given puzzle.

Aside from authenticity, another way to use social media as a beacon of light and integrity is to do our homework. When we post articles, quotes, and thoughts that inspire us or form our worldview, we should do what is necessary to ensure that the sources we use are factual and truly inform an issue as opposed to misrepresenting what is actually going on. Now, of course, in today’s climate this becomes increasingly more difficult, but there are ways to ensure that what we are posting does not have a political bias (starting with the source’s reputation and ending with comparison to other sources). If we choose to post a source that IS clearly biased, we should seek to explain why we are posting it with the acknowledgement that we know it is, in fact, biased. Why? Well, just because an article is biased doesn’t necessarily mean it is inaccurate. All journalism tells a story. Dan Rather spoke of his journalistic hero, Edward R. Murrow, who believed that facts alone do not tell an accurate story. Much of journalism must be informed by its context. Without context, an accurate story cannot be told. I read an example of this just today. An undocumented 37-year old Hispanic woman was arrested and tried for voting illegally. That is a fact and many might draw conclusions that pre-judge not only her intent but also her character. The rest of the story is that the woman, being led by the confusing bureaucracy of the voting process, didn’t understand that she was not able to vote. It was an innocent mistake, but this mother of four is being incarcerated for eight years (and subsequently deported) because of her “crime.” Context changes a story and informs the reality of people’s situations and lives. In many cases there is not enough context surrounding one’s story. In other cases, there are inaccurate facts that are twisted to form an inaccurate picture, or distorted context if you will. I do believe that in many of these cases it does take an educated person who reads a lot (some might say “a well-read person”) to begin to see when they are reading or watching something that is propaganda versus something that is accurately portrayed through facts, analysis, and context.

That brings me to another issue, which is the importance of a quality education. We need a lot of tools at our disposal to navigate this increasingly complex world we live in. Most of those tools must be acquired through a solid education where facts matter and learning “how to think” is valued more than “what to think.” Most of us who went to college and continued on to higher-degree institutions understand that the value of college is that we learn how to think. We learn how to process facts and information to form our own opinion and worldview. Most of us aren’t intellectually developed enough in high school to learn these skills. I am not saying those skills can’t be learned outside of a higher education institution. I know very intelligent, self-actualized, and aware people who did not go to college who do understand how to distinguish fact from fiction and translate that into a healthy, educated worldview based on their analysis of those facts. College, however, does encourage examination of issues more vigorously and provides access to tools in the form of scholars who challenge them, highly-revered books written by well-informed researchers on any given topic, educated discussions within a classroom that promote skilled debate, and accountability to scholarship in the form of doing the work and forcing formulation of thought for the sake of intellectualism and growth. Therefore, we must hold our educational institutions up as a priority to the progress of this great nation, and we must allow those institutions to be accessible to everyone. I don’t necessarily believe in free college. I do believe we each need to have some skin in the game. With that investment, we are investing in our own futures. I do, however, feel that college absolutely MUST be affordable and not cripple our youth with debt for decades to come. Without education, filling in the gaps of that puzzle depicting extremely important issues we face today in our society becomes increasingly difficult. We are left with politicians and a constituency of people who have a very narrow view of the issues that we face which leads to bad policy that further destroys the fabric of our communities.

So what can we do? As one person you can actually do a lot. First, become self-aware. Learn about yourself, your limitations, and your biases. When you learn about yourself through reading books, counseling, self-reflection, etc., you become a confident person. With confidence comes the ability to step outside yourself in any given situation to see the bigger picture. You no longer feel threatened by confrontation. Instead, you naturally listen more and become curious about others’ points of view. In that context you not only learn a great deal about others, but you use your own experience to inform their worldview and make a difference in their life. These positive connections form the basis of a supportive, healthy community. Second, value education for learning’s sake. I don’t just mean formal education. I mean seeking out information on topics that you are passionate about and learning everything you can about them. That act requires a lot of time and effort, but it also expands the picture and forms a broader worldview that you can impact in more direct ways. You can expand that knowledge-base through reading, watching documentaries, joining groups with a certain expertise, befriending people who are directly impacted by issues…the list goes on and on. Third, listen before speaking in all instances. Seek to understand those with a different worldview. They most likely come from a place of experience that could shed light on something you are not aware of. I am guilty of not following this just like everyone else. Many times we think we know about an issue, but we can always learn more. We can always see an issue from another point of view. That viewpoint is just as valid as ours. It is easy to discredit those we know are less informed than us, but it doesn’t invalidate their experience. So listen anyway. You just might learn something.

I believe that fear is bred from ignorance or lack of understanding. Tyrannical or authoritarian leaders use that fear to their advantage in order to push their own agendas. If we come at our fellow Americans (and non-Americans) with compassion and a willingness to understand, we can tame that fear and combat the oppression that authoritarian leaders inevitably breed. Leaders like Trump (and others) seek to divide us so that they can control us. They use fear as a weapon. Fear is never a unifier. Only compassion and empathy can unify…being vulnerable is the path to connection. There will always be those lonely few who seek to destroy and hurt us, but hate never wins. In the end, we must trust each other and hold hands in solidarity over the divisive rhetoric and actions of the current administration. A wall has never been a solution. Shunning people in need (aka Syrian immigrants) will never have a positive impact the way opening our doors does. Walls and deportation only feed the enemy seeking to destroy America and its freedoms. Pitting blacks and whites against each other disintegrates the fabric of this great nation and makes us weaker. So again I say…if you want to understand others and their experience, seek to understand yourself first so that you come at problems with confidence and a strong sense of what is right and most loving. Fill in the pieces of your own puzzle and unify your own soul so that you have the tools and the strength to begin the work of unifying others.