Another 2020 Tragedy: The Killing of George Floyd

I cannot fully comprehend what it means to be black in America. There are parts of this story that are much too complex in history for me to understand. I cannot think of what it must be like to have your family sold into slavery and sent across an ocean, to fight for your right to EXIST. That fight is NOT over. Racial injustice is everywhere right now. The fear and injustice, knowing that you are targeted for something that you cannot control. You are targeted with brutal violence. We are different, but we are together. Though we cannot understand, we will not be silent about the injustice that is happening. We cannot not let our race define our fate anymore. Enough is enough.

Today’s world is a place that is unfortunately deeply divided. We see people call out each other over differences in race, political views, nationality, economics, religion, just so many things.

In the last week, we have seen a huge upheaval all across the United States because of brutality and deeply embedded racism. It is not just about the loss of one life or one injustice, it is a pattern that we see repeated again and again. At this point, these calamities feel familiar, so familiar, in fact, that their details have begun to echo each other.

Eric Garner KILLED breaking up a fight, according to witness testimony.

Ezell Ford KILLED walking in his neighborhood.

Michelle Cusseaux KILLED changing the lock on her home's door when police arrived to take her to a mental health facility.

Tanisha Anderson KILLED when her brother called 911.

Tamir Rice KILLED playing in a park.

Walter Scott KILLED going to an auto-parts store.

Philando Castile KILLED driving home from dinner with his girlfriend.

Botham Jean KILLED eating ice cream in his living room in Dallas.

Atatiana Jefferson KILLED babysitting her nephew at home in Fort Worth, Texas.

Eric Reason KILLED pulling into a parking spot at a local chicken and fish shop.

Dominique Clayton KILLED sleeping in her bed.

Breonna Taylor KILLED asleep in her bed.

And George Floyd KILLED at the grocery store.

Floyd’s death was just the latest in a series of high-profile cases of black people being killed at the hands of police in recent years. Since 2015, over 1,200 black people have been shot and killed by police, and that doesn’t include those who died in police custody or were killed using other methods.

Recent protests have gathered thousands of people every day. In some cases, police officers have kneeled with protestors; but in many others, they have retaliated with tear gas, rubber bullets, and police vehicles. Most protests have opted for a peaceful route. The small minority has turned violent: riots in Minnesota have caused fires and destruction. There have also been many recent occurrences of looting and causing destruction to stores and public buildings. Oftentimes, this can ruin the life’s work of small businesses, and the cost of losing people’s entire means of making money is unimaginable, leaving business owners hopeless and impoverished. The actions of looters have corrupted the message of those who are demonstrating without violence; the Black Lives Matter movement is not about inciting violence. It is about justice and equality, and putting an end to police brutality that systemically fails to be held accountable, as well as countless other injustices that black people face on a day-to-day basis.

I cannot comprehend the horrible events that have happened in 2020, and we still have 7 months left. This is the first time since the murder of MLK that America has felt the full weight of racial injustice in the streets. Not because it wasn’t there, but because it was burning under the surface. Now it is burning in the streets.