Confronting Cancer

As a cancer survivor, I know that one of the sweetest phrases in the English language is “The good news is that we caught this early.” But hearing this phrase from an oncologist isn’t the end of the story. Rather, the “good news” is just the beginning.

We’d all be alarmed if a friend who received a cancer diagnosis didn’t follow up on early detection with a commitment to begin treatment. We’d certainly ask, “Why in the world are you putting treatment off? What are you waiting for?”

But stalling and failing to address a societal cancer is what has happened in our country over the
past decade. Racial tension and violence against African-Americans leading to the death of George
Floyd’s death at the hands of police in police in Minnesota revealed to the world that America has a
deadly cancer.

As the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction, people across the political spectrum agreed that the cancer of racism in America could no longer be ignored. Conversations long overdue between White and Black Americans were finally taking place, leading to hope that we’d finally address the cancer of racism.

This long-overdue reckoning was helped by the publishing of the “1619 Project.” This groundbreaking work offered a wealth of evidence that American history as traditionally taught in schools ignore the prevalence and persistence of racism that has infected every aspect of our society—from the economy, to education, to health care, to policing and incarceration, to religion, to justice, to housing, and more.

I believe the “1619 Project” is one of the most important books I’ve ever read, a book that every American should read. But a backlash quickly followed its publication. As exemplified by Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a Republican presidential candidate, a countermovement began that seeks to prohibit even the mention of race in schools and the workplace. If DeSantis has his way, talking about race will become a crime.

But here is the truth about cancer. A person afflicted with cancer can live in denial, saying to themselves and others, “I’m sure I don’t have cancer.” They can tell their family and friends to never mention the “C” word. They can refuse to see a doctor. They can even tell themselves and others that they’re not sick at all.

But through all that time of denial, what is the cancer doing? It is growing, and it is spreading. We live an illusion when we believe that racism, when ignored, denied, and silenced, simply goes away. No, it only becomes more deadly. Does this mean that I am “woke?” I hope so, for the only alternative to being awake is to sleepwalk through life.

America is long past the time when we could say that we caught the cancer of racism in its early stages. We contracted the disease in 1619 when the first boatload of Africans was brought in chains to
our shores as slaves.

The only question worth asking is if it is too late for our country to have a serious reckoning with racism. I hope and pray not, but if we refuse to face racism, the day will come when we realize that we have waited too long. Our cancer will be terminal.

-DC