Expert panelists explored the impacts of perceived rising authoritarianism in the United States during the YWCA Evanston/Northshore’s annual Unite Against Racism event on Monday.
Around 50 in-person attendees heard from community health psychologist Venoncia Baté-Ambrus, racial literacy educator Ayanna Brown and Elmhurst University political science Prof. Connie Mixon.
The panelists first recognized a slide toward authoritarianism as the Trump administration rolls out policies addressing education, diversity and the free press.
“We’re living in a time when resegregation is back in vogue,” said moderator and YWCA Equity Institute Director Roger Moreano. “There’s a real, concerted, unapologetic effort to whitewash our history.”
Panelists pointed to an attack on the U.S. education system as a cornerstone of Trump’s agenda.
Mixon highlighted an accelerated lack of civic education in high schools. Brown added that the “direct absence” of such an education has a fundamental effect on new voting populations as it limits their understanding of political matters.
Baté-Ambrus echoed this sentiment while emphasizing the need for identity-based learning.
“There’s intentional erasure of our collective histories in favor of a dominant narrative,” Baté-Ambrus said.
Early on, Brown underscored the need to not only focus on the drivers of authoritarianism, but also investigate the way racism informs these tendencies.
She said she wished the conservation more directly referenced racism, so as to fully address the topic.
“We have to be really active and thoughtful and planful about naming things clearly,” Brown said.
When contemplating the intersection between race and government, panelists discussed disparities in health and housing between racial groups.
Baté-Ambrus listed numerous inequities in healthcare and life expectancy in the Chicago area, which Mixon traced back to redlining and restrictive covenants.
Brown added that even something like access to greenspace in a neighborhood was reinforced by a racial agenda.
“Housing is health,” Baté-Ambrus said. “If you do not have adequate housing, it’s very difficult to maintain your health and well-being.”
Mixon said the issue of modern housing inequity ultimately falls upon zoning codes, which she called the new form of redlining. She explained that cities zone in exclusionary ways, like restricting lower-cost multi-family housing.
Mixon urged listeners to attend their local zoning meetings, a notion that is under the spotlight as Evanston reconsiders its own zoning code through Envision Evanston 2045, the city’s comprehensive plan and rezoning overhaul.
Toward the end of the evening, panelists circled back to the event’s theme, “Cultivating Hope and Inspiring Action.”
Speakers concluded that a focus on relationship building and collective dialogue was necessary to move forward. Brown said an interconnected community would “outlive any administration.”
At the event’s onset, Cherese Ledet, the president and CEO of the YWCA Evanston/North Shore, preempted this idea by reminding guests of the center’s mission: to eliminate racism and empower women.
“Your presence here today matters,” Ledet said. “It’s very important when you think about today’s society — the division, the fear, the misinformation that we all intake on a daily basis, our collective effort of being here tonight is just one step closer to us getting past this.”
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