This discussion is long overdue

We are all in this together [Read this email in your browser]( [FP Logo]( Dear Reader, George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 has sparked an urgent national and global conversation about racism and how to address it. This discussion is long overdue. Already, the debate has underscored the fact that, while social justice has not been a traditional focus of foreign-policy thinkers, it should be. As Bishop Garrison and Jon Wolfsthal [argue]( in a recent FP essay, “The United States cannot claim to be a beacon of freedom in the world if it continues to witness and accept the ongoing murder of innocent black people. … If the national security community only seeks to address global threats but refuses to confront the sins that hide in plain sight at home, there will never be lasting progress in either area.” If you still harbor any doubts about the importance of race in defense and international affairs, I urge you to read the arguments numerous leading U.S. military figures—including retired [Gen. John Allen]( retired [Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton]( and retired [Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard]( all recently shared in FP. On June 3, Allen, a former commander of NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, wrote that Trump’s use of military force to violently drive peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square might mark “the beginning of the end of the American experiment,” and he called on U.S. voters to respond by driving change “from the bottom up.” Whether or not that happens, the problems remain unavoidable. As Pittard, one of the few African Americans in U.S. history to reach the rank of two-star general, told FP’s Michael Hirsh in a June 4 [interview]( nonwhite officers are forced to confront discrimination throughout their careers. So are American diplomats; as FP’s Robbie Gramer found in reporting his [June 11]( story on how the current protests—and underlying injustices—are affecting the State Department, “Out of 189 ambassadors serving overseas today, only three are African American career diplomats, and just four are Hispanic.” These issues aren’t only being debated inside the United States. As Benjamin Haddad [writes]( “Europeans are expressing their frustration with American leadership … and their sympathy for a nation they still want to believe in.” Steven A. Cook, FP’s Middle East columnist, [compares]( the U.S. protests with those in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011 and Istanbul’s Gezi Park in 2013. “What is Black Lives Matter if it is not a demand for dignity?” he asks. Farther away—in India, for example—the events in the United States are now inspiring deep and painful introspection. Or they should. As Raksha Kumar [wrote]( for us recently, while prominent Bollywood stars have been quick to show support for African Americans, they have too often ignored how police brutality in their own country disproportionately affects India’s poor, its so-called lower castes, and its religious minorities. FP will work tirelessly to bring you more such content in the weeks and months ahead, from ever-more-diverse voices. So I hope you’ll keep reading, and that you’ll [subscribe]( to FP. We are all in this together, and only together can we drive the necessary change. With thanks, Jonathan Tepperman This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you are subscribed to FP communications. Want to receive FP newsletters? [Manage]( your FP newsletter preferences. [unsubscribe]( | [privacy policy]( | [contact us]( | [advertise]( Foreign Policy magazine is a division of Graham Holdings Company. All contents © 2020 The Slate Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 1750 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006. [Link](