With Liberty and Justice for All

Our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance asserts that we are “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” But our nation is not indivisible—it never has been—and currently, it is very divided. Though seemingly simple, the situation is complex and very personal.

What’s being laid bare for the world to see is that our nation does not offer equal liberty and justice for all. Nonetheless, we go along every day as if reciting the Pledge makes the oath a reality for all citizens or, at a minimum, a national commitment to a single vision.  Sadly, it does neither.

By the light of day, George Floyd was murdered by a gang of four policemen. The individual who led that vicious attack was confident he could do so without concern for responsibility or retribution. Don’t fool yourself into believing that what happened to George Floyd is new.  It’s not. It was but one manifestation of a much larger problem.

So, why did the police officer think there would be no consequences? The answer is painful: a system in which a perpetrator believes he can commit an immoral act, in plain sight and without consequence, is a defiled system.

My judgement is not limited to any specific police department or to law enforcement itself. The perpetrator was a monster created by a morally bankrupted system. The same system, by the way, spawns other beasts but they are not sporting guns and badges. Sometimes, the monster is a white woman walking her dog in a public park who threatens to call 911 when a Black man complains about her dog being off-leash. In that case, the white woman knew the system would suppress the Black man who was holding her to account. Other times, the monster is the person in HR who passes over a resume because the candidate attended an HBCU, or has a non-European sounding name. The actions may result in a slower death, but death nonetheless.  Each of these monsters  shares that police officer’s attitude toward Black people. Each is contributing, in their own way, to the sustained and systematic devaluation and destruction of Black people. 

Sadly, these are familiar examples of what many Black people experience day in and day out, inside our nation’s cherished systems and institutions.

If you think this is an exaggeration, consider which group of people has had the “learning moment” during the racial reckoning of 2020.  Let me help you: these events are not new for Black people and the insights are happening for some white people. Nonetheless, many other whites remain in denial and are unwilling to recognize racial bias and inequity in our systems. They are flabbergasted when the pressures build and circumstances explode in the office, at the grocery store, or, as it has this year, in the nation’s streets. It is always disappointing to see some of these individuals expressing bewilderment, even though, with but a little bit of discernment, anyone can see the inequity playing out every day in almost every walk of life.

By commission and omission, our systems have created communities where young people are trapped and sentenced before they come out of the womb. They are pre-destined to live in communities that are likely to offer substandard educational options, poor living conditions, limited access to jobs, healthy food, and basic healthcare. Where there are poor schools, there will be consequences. Where there is limited access to healthcare, there will be consequences. Where there is a lack of access to full employment and entrepreneurial opportunity, there will be consequences.  Those consequences will be on display at some point.

I’m reminded of the fabled story about the southern sheriff who once told SNCC organizers as he was putting them in jail, “This is simply ‘mind over matter.’ I don’t mind and you don’t matter.”

When asked, “What can we do?,” I offer this simple lens: if a living environment is considered objectionable for you, your family, or other loved ones, then it is probably objectionable for others, including my family, my loved ones, or me. In much the same way you don’t want to live in hell, no other normal person aspires to live in hell.  If living next to the landfill is unacceptable for your relatives, then it’s unacceptable for my relatives.  Unfortunately, so many people living in hell are there not as a result of their own choices, but by choices that others made for them before they were ever confronted with the opportunity to choose.  

As a society, we have to be honest with ourselves.

In my experience, people who look like me simply want what just about everybody else wants. No one is asking for guarantees; there are no guarantees. No one is demanding special treatment; only equal treatment.

If we are to honor our country’s promise then people who look like me are entitled to the same democratization of opportunities as all other people. Like anyone else, people who look like me are entitled to fully pursue Happiness as was affirmed in the Declaration of Independence. After all, to truly believe in this country’s credo you must believe our system is strong enough to let all people—Black and white—exercise the certain unalienable Rights that are endowed to each of us by our Creator.  Otherwise, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance are reduced to merely marketing materials.

Egbert Perry, a native of Antigua & Barbuda, is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Integral, a company he co-founded in 1993 with a mission to “create value in cities and (re)build the fabric of communities.” He has been on the University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees since 1996 and currently serves as Trustee Emeritus. Perry is a long-standing Board Member and former Chair of the Penn IUR Advisory Board.