The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

I had never really seen a protest firsthand prior to June 4.

Sure, I walked past plenty of small demonstrations in college on my way to class, but I never witnessed anything close to the raw emotion I reported on earlier this month in Spencer. Approximately 500 people with skin colors of black, white and brown gathered to march on Grand Avenue and call for justice for George Floyd, who died tragically at the hands of Minneapolis police late last month. Fears about violence and rioting were moot, as protestors kept it peaceful. It was a powerful scene.

There has been real, tangible change in the wake of Floyd's untimely death. Here in Iowa, the Legislature unanimously approved a bill banning most police chokeholds and addressing police officer misconduct. It was promptly signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

In Des Moines, the city council passed a racial profiling ban after years of urging by civil rights activists. The ordinance mandates additional annual police training on de-escalation, cultural diversity, cultural competency and implicit bias, and says officers have a duty to intervene when witnessing "unreasonable force" by another officer, according to a report in the Des Moines Register. Critics would have liked it to go further, but it's a step in the right direction.

More policy changes are in the works elsewhere to realize greater equality. Discussion about these racial disparities is at an all-time high, and we as a country cannot rest on laurels. Change is needed and there's a long way to go.

All of us in northwest Iowa often feel a bit removed from the conversation. There are few black people here, and we don't see the instances of police misconduct large metro areas experience. Cops here are our neighbors and policing seems vastly different than the aggressive confrontations that are frequently broadcast on TV. In so many words, we live in a bubble. Our experiences are shaped by what we see on the news, and that view can be skewed by the network broadcasting it. However, just because northwest Iowa doesn't have a large black population doesn't mean racism doesn't exist here.

NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS

A protestor holds a sign that reads, "I can't breathe," in Spencer June 4.

That's why it's so important to listen to the black community's experiences. Doing so will create a greater understanding of the institutional disparities black Americans fight everyday. It might not be easy to hear, and from a lot the remarks I've read on social media, many white people are quick to brush off these injustices. Instead of mourning the death of George Floyd, they bring up his past criminal record; instead of supporting a black athlete's call for reform, they say he should shut up and be grateful he's wealthy; instead of respecting black Americans' right to peaceful protest, they call it disrespectful.

We've got a long ways to go and a lot of listening to do. There has been great progress in recent weeks – institutional-level change, even – but we must continue fighting for equality so there is true "justice for all," regardless of skin color. This is just the beginning.

Nick Pedley is the news editor of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.