Monday marked the 12th anniversary of the death of my older brother, Dhruvanand “Ravi” Budhu. Part of his story is here :
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/06/19/george-floyd-killed-12-years-after-brother-died-police-custody-column/3194287001/ 1/12

Ravi was my first ever role model. He was an incredibly generous person, and had an unmatched joy for life. I looked up to everything he did, and I was incredibly proud as he started down his own path as a tech entrepreneur. 2/12

His dreams of changing the world by bringing advanced financial analytics to main street investors were sadly cut short when he died in police custody.
For over a decade, I’ve kept quiet about his death to shield both my family and myself from reliving the trauma. 3/12

However, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, I have seen many struggle to understand the inequities that plague our society, particularly as they apply to Black lives. I don’t know what it is like to be a black person nor to face the struggles they face. 4/12

Yet I recognize that the road to equal treatment for all, particularly for other communities of color and those suffering in poverty, is intertwined with justice for Black lives. Thus, I share Ravi’s story as a glimpse into how systemic racism operates. 5/12

In dealing with my brother’s death, I have come to realize that no law or policy was violated. Nor did we encounter any overt acts of racism. Instead, a lack of empathy killed my brother. Perhaps that is why systemic racism is so difficult to identify outside of data. 6/12

It is hard to describe the sometimes subtle way that bias makes institutions hostile or indifferent to the very communities they supposedly serve. Unfortunately, systemic racism pervades almost all areas of our society, including housing, healthcare, and education. 7/12

Given the uniquely deep legacy and history of oppression, it is unfathomable for any of us to deny that Black lives bear the brunt of these systemic inequities.
The first step in identifying inequity is to display empathy to those who have experiences different from our own. 8/12

Too often those most impacted suffer in silence, and as a result, our society fails to understand how bias preys on our most vulnerable. In recognizing different experiences, we can understand of how the institutions that we operate within benefit some, 9/12

and either intentionally or unintentionally, exclude others. Race, status, and identity are complex issues, and it is only natural to be defensive when dealing with different perspectives, experiences, and levels of privilege. 10/12

In exposing my own vulnerability and at the same time acknowledging my own relative privilege, I hope to inspire others to do the same as we work together to build a more just and equal society. 11/12

#racialjustice #BlackLivesMatter #Ally #allyshipandaction #BLM #georgefloyd @shaunking @KristenClarkeJD @SarahSayeedNYC @AmolSinha @ACLU @NYCLU @NewYorkStateAG @NYCMayor @NYCCHR 12/12