Some really interesting questions here! I'm not going to answer them all, but I'd like to pick and choose among them, if that's OK.
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Originally Posted by graciegirl
I am interested in hearing how we as a community of people could have changed what happened to him early on? Could we have seen to a better education?
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Very possibly, but that would have probably required admitting long ago that inner city and/or historically black school districts needed help & would have been difficult to actually do for many reasons. Difficult, but not impossible.
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Originally Posted by graciegirl
Could we have gotten to know him better?
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Another decent idea. Maybe "we" personally could not have known George himself, but in a general sense, communication between members of the community couldn't have hurt.
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Originally Posted by graciegirl
Could we have built community centers so that their was a good place for him to hang out?
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That seems like a very good idea! It's pretty well established that kids living in poverty, without anything constructive to occupy their time are more prone to turn to crime.
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Originally Posted by graciegirl
Could we have marched?
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I'm sure that many more white people showing active support for African-American issues would have been very welcome!
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Originally Posted by graciegirl
Could we have taken courses to truly understand what bigotry is?
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Possibly the best idea of the bunch. I doubt that most white people (myself included) have any real idea what people of color encounter in their lifetimes. Much food for thought here. Thanks for that, Gracie!