Local leaders speak out about racism and police brutality in 2023

In 2020, the world faced a deadly pandemic and individuals, organizations and corporations were forced to come face to face with racism and discrimination.

“The world was devastated by a deadly virus, people were dying, people were losing their jobs, people were losing their benefits,” Monito Mungo, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at the University of Toledo. said. “All this was happening and the world was stopped, so people had nothing to do but pay attention.”

According to Mungo, when there is a crisis, social inequality worsens. “More people saw it at a time when more people were outraged, because at that time everyone was experiencing social inequality,” she said.

There were protests and unrest almost everywhere, but much more was happening in society. The companies rebranded their racist products, pledged to donate to organizations working to help black and other minority communities, and created Diversity Equality and Inclusion (DEI) programs.

Mungo said there was awareness but it had to translate into action.

“It’s a wonderful thing in theory, but I think it’s performative when change doesn’t happen,” she said. “If the needle moves on outcomes for people of color and specifically black people, then you can say it’s worked.”