Michael Chugani

Opinion | George Floyd protests are a chance for the US to confront its racist history, not try to erase it

The Black Lives Matter movement is an awakening for the US. Facing up to institutionalised racism is long overdue. Slavery is a stain on America’s history. The task is to rectify this stain without erasing history

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Protesters attempt to pull down the statue of former US president Andrew Jackson in the middle of Lafayette Park in front of the White House during racial inequality protests in Washington on June 22. Photo: Reuters

Michael Chugani

Published: 1:00am, 25 Jun 2020Updated: 1:19am, 25 Jun 2020

To understand America, you have to be an American or have lived there. There’s a lot to understand about this superpower, which is both reviled and admired. To understand it, you have to understand Democratic blue states, Republican red states, Deep South former Confederate states with their history of slavery and Jim Crow laws that institutionalised racism.

You have to understand the abortion rights Roe vs Wade case, the right to bear arms, the Electoral College that indirectly elects the president through a democratic process, why the United States largely finances a security umbrella for Western democracies and why it is the world’s largest magnet for immigrants.

Most importantly, you need to understand that what matters most to Americans is individual freedoms such as the right not to wear a face mask, democracy, unforced patriotism and religious freedom. The National Football League epitomises all this by now allowing players to take a knee during the national anthem.

I immersed myself in understanding America for my naturalisation test decades ago, even though it dealt mostly with the constitution, government and civics issues. I delved into US history because history fascinates me.

I took my oath of allegiance in Baltimore, an hour’s drive from the Washington suburbs where I lived. One of my proudest moments was being photographed holding my naturalisation certificate by an American flag.

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Anti-racism and police brutality protests sparked by death of George Floyd continue around the globe

How different America was then. The country now has a president, in Donald Trump, whose trademark is to upend the old order. One of his 2016 election campaign slogans was “drain the swamp” – a promise to rid Washington of corruption and insider influence.