What Does This Moment in Time Mean for America? — Karen Boykin-Towns in conversation with PRecise Communications and Hill Harper
Karen Boykin-Towns is a results driven leader and agent of change. Karen was invited to speak at a virtual panel discussion held by PRecise Communications on August 24, 2020. The discussion was titled “Culture and Convos - Maximizing Black Voices & Brand Power for Social Change”, and encompassed topics like racism in America, equality, the recent protests and so on. Karen spoke alongside Hill Harper — renowned actor, author and activist.
The discussion took place on Facebook Live, which allowed viewers from all over the world to tune in.
Karen has had extensive experience in strategic planning, communications and outreach — which have allowed her to develop a skill in connecting with people. With a unique perspective, in leading successful teams, civic organizations and now her own business, Karen has been able to bridge communications gaps and has brought people together on common ground.
Watch an excerpt of the panel discussion here, or read an excerpt of what Karen said below.
“What does this moment in time mean for America? I think it means everything. Quite frankly, just simply everything. It was last night that we had once again, on tape, a cop shoot Jacob Blake in the back seven times. Thank God he is still alive and he’s in ICU. There’s a lot of questions once again, and like enough is enough already! This is a time where we just cannot believe what we’re seeing. Some people are becoming despondent, but more people are becoming like “oh no, we cannot take this.”
“While what we see is in our communities and outside our communities, because we’re sort of home kind of still in quarantine, we have a hyper focus on what we’re seeing and it is not okay. We have to know we are better than this and we must hold those accountable — whether it’s the police or sheriff’s, mayor, state legislator, governor, etc. It’s just up and down the food chain.
“It’s almost like our lives don’t matter and we are not valued. I am not against the police, but they cannot come into our communities and all hyped up and shoot someone. It’s about de-escalation and what we saw in the video of Jacob Black- his sons were in the car! They watched their father get shot. It’s just enough. What this means is that we have to stay with the fight. No one person can think that their voice does not matter. We are having an impact — we really are. It is evident by what we have seen. In some of these rallies we have more people who don’t look like us. People have come together to say that this is not okay.
“We have to come to the table to talk about how we value lives. But also, how do we begin to talk about equity and opportunity? How do we say, this system that we have is not fair? We have to figure out how to do better.”
