George Floyd is a martyr. His death is more than a tragic incident on the streets of Minneapolis, it is emblematic of a traumatic and abusive 401-year relationship.
When former Police Officer Derek Chauvin drove his knee into the neck of Floyd – the latter bound by handcuffs, face pressed against hard concrete, his cries for mercy falling on deaf ears from men in uniform who were sworn to protect him – the pain and suffering of so many was on full display and could not be ignored.
Since 1619, America has placed its knee on the necks of black people, while others who had the opportunity to intervene stood idly by and watched.
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We saw our country explode this weekend. It is true that some of the people involved in the wreckage and destruction of property had different agendas. However, you witnessed a generation of young people who are angry and frightened that someone they know or love could be next. They are resentful of their countrymen who, just five years earlier, ignored or worse, opposed their pleas that their lives and the lives of those in their communities simply mattered.
In 2015, with the exception of a few cities, most of the marching was done peacefully. The media vilified the protesters, their cause, their means of protest, and even the victims of violence themselves by impugning their character. Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players knelt in solidarity with the fallen and in a silent call for justice. They were called "sons of bitches."
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I wish I could say George Floyd’s death was exceptionally different or more egregious than the others before him. The truth is, it wasn’t.
The protesters rightly feel patronized by those who feign expressions of grief and then instruct them on the right way to protest. The question is, where were you? Where were you when Eric Garner begged for mercy, screaming the very same words as Floyd that haunt so many of our nightmares: "I can't breathe“?
Where were you when Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a 7-year-old girl, was shot in the head by a police officer during a raid? When 12-year-old Tamir Rice was gunned down while playing with a toy?
When Philando Castile was killed while a child watched from the backseat of his vehicle only a few miles from where George Floyd took his final breath? When Atatiana Jefferson was shot through a window in her own home during a wellness check?
What occurred on May 30, 2020, will live in infamy like many days before it. It is like Aug. 11, 1965, and April 29, 1992, and April 25, 2015. We have seen images of police brutality and unjust killings on film since at least the early 1960s. What we are seeing is nothing new, except now the images no longer go through a newsroom filter, where often an older white man gets to decide whether or for how long it is newsworthy.
America has allowed police brutality and other related issues to go unchecked, and today every major city in the country is smoldering.
This country needs to have a spiritual, social, cultural and political reckoning. Systemic racism is cancer. For too long we have been told to ignore the symptoms or given temporary pain relievers, like an uplifting speech from a well-respected politician or an encouraging word from a celebrity.
Like all cancers, when you fail to address the underlying issue, it grows and metastasizes until the body is in full-blown crisis. America has allowed police brutality and other related issues to go unchecked, and today every major city in the country is smoldering. The knee of America has been on the necks of black people for so long, despite their fealty to the principles enshrined in our Constitution.
Any cancer survivor will tell you that the treatment and healing process is arduous, painful and prolonged. It is not comfortable but it is necessary for survival.
The need in this country is for peace, justice, progress, unity. As we can see, there will be no peace without justice, no justice without progress, no progress without unity. Until we can show that peaceful protests yield tangible, lasting results, we will continue to have these explosions every few years.
We are a leaderless nation. There is no one at the helm whom the public can trust to usher change and progress, who fights to unify us with words and in action. There is no political or spiritual leader who can reset our ailing country. That leaves the responsibility on us.
Some are saying that the protesters who are destroying property don’t respect the law. That is true. And it's because the law has shown repeatedly that it doesn’t respect black and brown people. In a cathartic rage, they feel as though they are fighting back, disrupting the repressive status quo and placing their knee upon America’s economic and social neck, even if only for a few hours.
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It is incumbent upon us to show them they are wrong, that their grievances will be heard and taken seriously, and that true structural change can be achieved through nonviolent means.
George Floyd was a martyr and symbol of something much larger. Officer Chauvin’s arrest and conviction are only the first steps. The color of Chauvin’s skin is not the primary issue, the color of his uniform is. I want to know that if I am having a medical emergency, I will be aided by the institutions I help to support, not ignored or hurt worse. There are police reforms that must occur.
Stephen Jackson, a former NBA player who knew George Floyd personally, was asked by rap legend Fat Joe about watching Floyd’s death. Jackson responded, “I saw myself.” Fat Joe, who has referred to himself in the past as a “black Latino” appeared emotionally moved.
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I am a 6-foot-2 black man. I saw myself. Black wives saw their husbands. Black young people saw their fathers. Black mothers saw their sons. When President Obama saw himself in a black boy who was stalked and killed by a vigilante, he was roundly criticized.
Until society fully recognizes our humanity and white men see themselves in Floyd – white women see themselves in Breonna Taylor – white parents see their children in Tamir Rice – white advocates of the Second Amendment see themselves in Atatiana Jefferson or Philando Castile – we will return to this very position with business and communities in ashes.
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