We have a long way to go until we reach a “post-racial society.” The thing we need to focus on now has been going viral online: white people calling the cops on minorities for no reason.

Cops being called on men waiting in Starbucks, children selling water, men moving into their apartments, women shopping legally and various other mundane activities is something that needs to come to an immediate halt.

A couple of weeks ago, I was enjoying a typical night of scrolling through my Twitter timeline to relieve some of my tension from school. I see comedian Niecy Nash on my screen, so of course I stop to take a look.

The video, a satirical infomercial, revolved around the ever prominent racial tension of our country.
They used actual instances of racial prejudice including mention of the viral video of a white women calling the police on two black men for using the wrong grill while barbecuing at a park in Oakland.

However, the best thing about the infomercial is that, while it’s meant to be comical, it’s not that far off from the truth.

There’s a very obvious reason behind some of this tension: some white people, usually women, continuously call the police on minorities for non-threatening things.

This is a pattern that has persisted through all of American history.

Prime examples include the false accusations of Emmett Till in 1955 and the more recent instance of a woman accusing a nine-year-old African-American boy of sexual assault in a grocery store.

The feelings of superiority that some white people have often times is threatening to the well-being of others when they call the police in a racially driven society.

Because of the power dynamics in the country, many white people are not able to display the necessary amount of empathy in these situations because they do not deal with being a minority in this society’s climate.

When calling the cops on minorities for petty circumstances, the possibility of a call leading to unnecessary treatment or even death is something that not enough people seem to understand.

This is especially important to comprehend when the situation includes children, which many of them do.

This could reinforce fear in their impressionable minds and also aid in producing negative reactions to and perceptions of society.

In a Vox article, “I used to be a 911 dispatcher. I had to respond to racist calls every day.,” written by a former police dispatcher, Rachael Herron relays accounts of how unnecessary and racist some calls are.

H-F does a great job of presenting diverse voices in classes, but the rest of the country seems to fall behind in this department.

Holding people accountable whether it be in court or through viral video is a huge benefit to the cause for change. This is something that should be continued throughout our society.

Moving forward as a nation, more diversity in our media and everyday lives is one of the best things we can incorporate.

Through communication, we could be on our way to racial equality.