Over a dozen HBCUs met Black History Month with threats that forced their closures or lock downs, leaving many students fearful and angry. One Spelman College student wondered out loud why she was experiencing the same white supremacist terrorism her grandparents were subjected to for simply trying to get a better education.

The Ahmaud Aubery case in Georgia gained national attention for its blatant racist vigilantism of three good ole boys, but similar acts have not received the same publicity. For example, in rural Missouri there have  been at least three known cases of young Black men killed at the hands of white men. All the lethal shootings were ruled justifiable before there was any mention of criminal prosecution.

The anti-Black climate is growing and becoming more intense — and ugly. It may be driven by a rabid, white extremist movement, but it also enjoys the complacency of a silent majority which nurtures an environment that supports not just anti-Black ideologies, but also anti-gay and anti-woman ideologies. In short, anti-everything except white, male dominance.

This brings me to this experiment called democracy. Democracy is about all the people, not a few sectors of a society. This is why there’s turmoil all over the world. People are fighting to be included and respected, to enjoy the human rights that should be afforded to all who are part of any society.

The former president set a lot of negative attitudes and behaviors in motion while in office. Most of his tyrannical ideas and actions would not have seen the light of day if it weren’t for the complicity of the diverse majority. This complicity is not necessarily intentional. Some of us are in perpetual survival mode with scant energy or time to confront the sources of oppression. Others understand the systems of oppression but are confused or hesitant about how to tackle them.

In this next period, those of us who know an injustice when we see it have to be more proactive, more organized and more tenacious in advancing the ideals of democracy. The forces of reaction are aggressively moving us towards an authoritarian model where a few corporate elites run the government at the expense of our democratic freedoms. Our goal is not just to resist this political tendency but to also put a decisive end to it.

While we currently have some limited powers in the Executive Branch and a little in the Legislative Branch, the enemies of democracy are exploiting all branches of the government to move their agenda whether it be legislative or judicial. The two branches can greatly suppress the powers of the Executive Branch despite the fact that all three branches are supposed to be checks and balances while operating cooperatively in the name of The People.

I hear from many people of uncertainty about the future of their family and this country. This is a time for us to be acutely clear that passivity is the enemy of democracy. There are many tragic and historic examples of how this manifested itself for different societies. The people are always the losers. Our pledge to one another is to not repeat the most egregious human rights violations, but to move ourselves and our communities to a deeper purpose and a higher developed civilization.

Another world is possible, but it won’t happen by osmosis. We will have to work together to create and sustain the democracy we aspire to live in.