Gotham Gazette

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Spike in Concerns About Race Provides Opportunity


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Mayor de Blasio speaking at BAM on MLK Day (photo: @BilldeBlasio)


It's hard to imagine a single Martin Luther King Day event in New York City this week which did not include urgent expressions of concern about race in our hometown—both from the podium and in the crowd.

After a torrid summer and fall of protests following the tragic deaths of two unarmed black men – Eric Garner and Akai Gurley – at the hands of police, we are now suffering through a winter of cold war between police unions and City Hall after the assassination of two officers, appallingly gunned down amid the strife.

Recent polling reflects the mood of a troubled public stuck in the middle of all this, supporting police but clearly hearing protesters. New Yorkers are also fearing what the ongoing conflict means for race relations. Just two years ago, more than half of New Yorkers thought race relations were excellent or good. Now less than a third do, according to a Siena College survey released Monday.

Those numbers have undoubtedly dropped because of the disturbing string of events having to do with the police, including the standoff between the police unions and Mayor de Blasio—a fight which is rooted in a basic disagreement over how to even talk about race.

But New Yorkers' race-related anxieties were already piquing during the 2013 mayoral campaign. Though it's reasonable to argue the recent policing issues rapidly escalated concern, our mayor's victory a little more than a year ago was due in no small part to his ardent criticism of the overuse of Stop-and-Frisk in communities of color.

And New Yorkers are not just concerned about race in policing, but also about race's role in general inequality. For instance, more than half of New Yorkers now think the entire criminal justice system treats people of color unfairly. Politicians from every corner of the city talk about a yawning income gap between the haves (mostly white) and the have-nots (mostly black and Latino).

To many in New York, it's as if racial inequality 2.0 is just now being uncovered. Actually though, it's a deep-seated problem that never went away, and has seen little improvement in decades. Yet a large group of people is suddenly realizing how serious a problem it is. Those people, by the way, are mainly white.

When more than half of all New Yorkers thought race relations were excellent or good two years ago, black New Yorkers disagreed. More than half of them thought they were only fair or poor. Since then, there has been a huge increase in the percentage of white New Yorkers who are concerned - just 8 percent thought race relations were poor in 2013. Now that number has tripled to more than a quarter who think so.

It's easy to be pessimistic about progress from here. But, believe it or not, this level of distress is exactly what had to happen for things to get better.

With attention focused on the different experiences whites and blacks have in this city and state, there is an historic opportunity to make real, lasting changes. NYPD Commissioner Bratton, Governor Cuomo and other lawmakers have already put forward policies which could reduce inequality in our criminal justice system. But next we have to recognize other systemic causes of racial inequality, and seek to fix them as well.

Schools that are predominantly black are far more likely to be underfunded and underperforming. Unemployment remains devastatingly high in neighborhoods with large black populations. Even basic things like renovated subway stops and cleaner sidewalks are harder to find in majority-minority areas.

This month, the governor and mayor are setting their agendas for 2015, and our State Legislature and City Council will soon go about the annual task of doling out government funds through their budget processes. This is when we prioritize what's most important to us. This is when we have a chance to reduce the inequality that has created a far less perfect city than we are capable of and deserve.

This may be the most pivotal Martin Luther King Week we New Yorkers have had in a very long time. The current controversy over policing is important and must lead to reform. But it is also necessary to admit there is a broader problem, be determined to fix it, and to act, not just worry. We must do it now, while so many New Yorkers are finally paying attention.

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Evan Thies is the president of Brooklyn Strategies, a public affairs and strategic planning firm that offers political advice.

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