The United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, says ‘we need to dismantle white supremacy’ and unite against racism

The United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, says ‘we need to dismantle white supremacy’ and unite against racism

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“In many of our communities and countries, racism is endemic. It is embedded, like rotting in a frame. And it remains, it gets infected and spreads because many of those responsible allow it. Others look away and pretend it is not there. But like a cancer, if ignored, it grows, “said Thomas-Greenfield during a UN meeting in celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Thomas-Greenfield mentioned America’s history of slavery and the legacy of white supremacy, recognizing that “we have shortcomings. Deep and serious shortcomings.”

“But we talked about them. We work to face them. And we continue, hoping to be able to leave the country better than we found it, ”she said. “We can do the same on a multilateral scale.”

She recalled how the “meaningless” murders of black Americans, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, last year “sparked a reckoning with racial justice, a movement that has spread across the world: Black Lives Matter”.

“And because black lives are important, we need to dismantle white supremacy at every step,” said Thomas-Greenfield.

The US government has determined that domestic violent extremism represents the “greatest threat” to the United States, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned on CNN that white supremacy, neo-Nazism and extremism represent an “international threat” .
During the UN meeting on Friday, Thomas-Greenfield pointed to the FBI’s data on hate crimes reports in America reaching the highest level in a decade, which she said did not capture “bullying, discrimination, brutality. and the violence that Asian Americans have faced “since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The mass shooting in Atlanta is just the most recent example of this horror,” she said. Eight people – six of whom were Asian women – were shot dead at three spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday night. The deaths, which the authorities have not yet considered a hate crime, have heightened fears among the Asian-American community, which has seen an increase in hate incidents against them.

Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States mission to the UN would lower its flag at half-mast “to honor the victims of this terrible and senseless tragedy”.

She said that “ending racial discrimination, particularly” in the United States’ criminal justice system, is a “continuing priority” for the Biden government.

“It is so important that we are together – remain united – against this scourge. In unity, we have strength,” she said. “But divisions and misperceptions about each other work against all of us.”

Thomas-Greenfield, who is African American, said Friday’s meeting was “personal to me”, sharing that she is a descendant of slaves and grew up in the segregated South.

“I know the ugly face of racism. I experienced racism. I have already experienced racism. And I survived racism, ”she said.

“Those of us who experience racism cannot, and should not, internalize it, despite the impact it can have on our daily lives. We must face it, every time, no matter who it is aimed at.”

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