This Country is Kneeling On My Neck
The world watched George Floyd die. The world watched as George Floyd took his last breath. The world watched as George Floyd screamed and yelled and begged and gasped for help. But who do you call when the person that is supposed to save you is kneeling on your neck? Who do you call when your brothers and sisters have to watch you die because the people that are supposed to save you are threatening their lives if they get involved? Who do we call? Where do we go?
It took me a long time to speak on the death of George Floyd because I watched that video from start to finish and it really messed me up. I couldn’t believe this man uttered his last breath, and the police continued to kneel on his neck. It wasn’t until a white bystander who claimed to be an EMT spoke up, that the police thought it adequate to get a stretcher. Not the black voices who screamed for help during the entire situation. Our voices were not enough.
Why the outrage? Why the madness? Why are we so angry? Because nothing has changed. Because these events are a direct reflection of what black Americans have endured since the slave ships dumped us on this soil. White men coming in the middle of the night to rape black women because we have no one to save us. White men coming in the middle of the night, taking our fathers to get lynched because there is no one to save us. We had to watch as these horrific crimes took place because trying to save ourselves meant more death. What difference is there between now and then? A camera. But will the result be the same? Do these cameras save us? No.
The unnecessary death of black and brown people happens far too often in this country. We are hurt and angry and feel hopeless. And now with social media, anyone can voice their opinion on the events that surround the death of not only George Floyd but the hundreds of men and women who have died simply because of the color of their skin. And instead of focusing on the injustices, many are focused on the actions of the victims. Please don’t allow the looting and riots distract from the reason the looting and rioting is happening: the deaths of multiple black lives and no justice. Material things do not compare to a person’s life. Remember, black people are no longer property and our lives have infinite value. We matter.
I wasn’t going to speak on these events. I was too disturbed. I was hurt. But I am thankful to those who, through their hurt and pain, found the power to fight and speak out against the wrongdoings of this country. I pray constantly that this moment in time will be the moment that makes a difference. That this moment opens the whole world’s eyes to finally see us. To finally value us. To get their knee off our necks, the guns out of our backs, the shackles off our feet and hands and let us live.