Dear New Zealand, why solidarity, anti-racism and black lives matter

The recent events following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police have sparked conversations about racism and police brutality around the world. For many these conversations are new or seem too far removed from their daily lives, for others the outrage around the killing of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52886593" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">George Floyd</a>, and the less covered killings of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Breonna Tayler</a> or <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/05/tony-mcdade-tallahassee-florida-police-shooting-death/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Tony McDade</a>, is a reminder of the on-going racial violence and terror black communities in particular and communities of color in general experience. As a scholar of Peace and Conflict Studies with a specific focus on racism (and anti-racism), I’ve been following these debates closely — and to a large degree the confusion as well as misinformation attached to them. I only moved back to New Zealand in December 2019 after teaching in Indiana. So, over the past few days, my social media inbox was filled with questions from well-meaning white friends who want to know what is going in the US, so I’d like to share some thoughts for all who might share these questions, particularly in the New Zealand context: <a href="https://medium.com/@mahdis.azarmandi/dear-new-zealand-why-solidarity-anti-racism-and-black-lives-matter-d6e9d2ef18b4">Visit Now</a>   <ul> </ul>