I received a racist email after a protest blocked an expressway. Let’s talk about it, Miami

The email is a string of racist commentary — 122 words to be exact — that ends by calling me a “racist b----.”

I get reader emails all the time from people expressing their frustrations around current events. And it’s not the first time in my 30-year career that a reader has called me a racist or derogatory epithet. I will never forget the first time as a reporter that I was called a “n-----.” Like other moments of coming face to face with racism, it will sit with me for life.

As a journalist, the leader of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald and a leader in the greater Miami community, I welcome the opportunity to engage with readers. I want to know what you think. I crave civil conversation — decency — especially when there is disagreement.

Here is a screenshot of the email. Warning: It contains offensive language.

This email came the day after a Miami Herald news story pointed out that the governor’s controversial anti-riot law — which called for arresting demonstrators who blocked highways — was not being enforced and an editorial questioned why. Demonstrators not only stopped traffic, they blocked one of Miami’s busiest highways for several hours.

Brutal and evil were the words that came to mind after I read it over a few times. I recalled the words of Maya Angelou who said, “When people show you who they are, believe them.”

I have met many people in South Florida’s Cuban-American community who share a deep belief in social and racial justice. They share a spirit of peace, grace and hope for our communities. But the writer of the email I received this week showed me who he is and he painted an ugly picture.

You might tell me to just chalk it up to ignorance and anger. But it’s not just about this one man and this one email. It’s bigger than that.

I was raised humble, raised to turn the other cheek and be the bigger person, to move on and get over it. That’s a smart lesson and a smart way to move through life at times. This isn’t one of those times. As a Black woman, I refuse to oblige the various ways that some people seem to demand that I simply take what they give. To the contrary, hate can’t be solved with silence. The reality is that the silence is as loud as the injustice of racism itself.

There is a growing awareness around anti-racism in our culture at large. The same intentionality the writer of this email had as he directed his words to me and “my people” is the same intense and explicit intentionality we must have about calling out and exposing this ignorance.

I’m tired of racial nonsense in all its forms, including certain laws for certain people. You should be tired of it too, regardless of your ethnicity or background.

I refuse to file this email away as one bad apple. We are long past the time when women, Black people, and anyone else who is marginalized should file it away in a drawer of despair.

We all carry the potential for unconscious biases, but what we do and say in the worst of times is a reflection of who we really are. That’s why I am writing this open letter to you, my Miami neighbors.

I received other emails on this topic. None of them were laced with the hate that made this one stick out. It was a reminder that racial reckoning is ongoing in America. And it was a reminder that we need to continue to hold up a mirror to ourselves, and to each other.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Miami, who are we in times of challenge? Who are we right now? How are you using your voice?

Tension should breed intelligent conversation and receptivity.

Tension should inspire constructive change and action.

Collectively we have to say enough on racism, in all its forms. And it doesn’t have to be incredibly complex.

Write to your political leaders when laws feel one-sided, or when laws are needed.

Speak up when you see someone being treated unfairly.

Seek different perspectives.

Find your voice in sending the message that racism is unacceptable.

And most importantly, don’t be led by misinformation and disinformation. The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald are the local news sources that you need. It’s our job to keep you informed. We see ourselves as a crucial part of civic engagement, exposing wrong and inspiring people to act for the greater good.

We see ourselves as a tool to foster change in our communities.

What about you?

I encourage you to be a part of the change that you want to see.