With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Granite Staters leading the efforts for racial justice are reflecting on the tragedies and protests occurring within the last year and what they mean for the future.>> Download the FREE WMUR appNews 9 spoke with people who are trying to make a difference and create change. They have seen progress but said there is more work to be done.“Last year undoubtedly, social justice and racial justice became a topic that all of us had to discuss in some form,” said Ryan Terrell of Nashua.”We’ve seen a large awakening of people understanding that racism is real,” Black Lives Matter of Manchester Co-Founder Tyrell Whitted said.In 2020, demands for racial justice grew louder and louder. Protests followed different killings of black Americans with some caught on video. “They were really almost the straw that broke the camel’s back for so many people,” NAACP Manchester President James McKim said. “There are things happening in the state, there are things that have happened because of the tragedies of last year. That’s carrying over into this year. I’m seeing already people want to continue that work, even after the holiday break.”While tangible progress is recognized, leaders see change continuing through more conversations. “Be in dialogue. Don’t be afraid to talk about this issue. We are in our society taught to stay away from politics, social justice issues in our conversations,” McKim said. “We can’t stay away from them if we want to resolve them.”“We just have to treat each other with more grace and more dignity and understanding, that all of us are trying to do the best for our communities and our individual selves and our families,” Terrell said.McKim served on one of the commissions assembled by Gov. Sununu after the death of George Floyd. He said he has taken part in implicit bias training with prosecutors and sees similar efforts with other lawyers, judges and in the health care industry.
With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Granite Staters leading the efforts for racial justice are reflecting on the tragedies and protests occurring within the last year and what they mean for the future.
>> Download the FREE WMUR app
News 9 spoke with people who are trying to make a difference and create change. They have seen progress but said there is more work to be done.
“Last year undoubtedly, social justice and racial justice became a topic that all of us had to discuss in some form,” said Ryan Terrell of Nashua.
“We’ve seen a large awakening of people understanding that racism is real,” Black Lives Matter of Manchester Co-Founder Tyrell Whitted said.
In 2020, demands for racial justice grew louder and louder. Protests followed different killings of black Americans with some caught on video.
“They were really almost the straw that broke the camel’s back for so many people,” NAACP Manchester President James McKim said. “There are things happening in the state, there are things that have happened because of the tragedies of last year. That’s carrying over into this year. I’m seeing already people want to continue that work, even after the holiday break.”
While tangible progress is recognized, leaders see change continuing through more conversations.
“Be in dialogue. Don’t be afraid to talk about this issue. We are in our society taught to stay away from politics, social justice issues in our conversations,” McKim said. “We can’t stay away from them if we want to resolve them.”
“We just have to treat each other with more grace and more dignity and understanding, that all of us are trying to do the best for our communities and our individual selves and our families,” Terrell said.
McKim served on one of the commissions assembled by Gov. Sununu after the death of George Floyd. He said he has taken part in implicit bias training with prosecutors and sees similar efforts with other lawyers, judges and in the health care industry.
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