4/20/21: The Verdict We've Been Waiting For
I want to start this off by saying that our city is a powerful one. The people of Minneapolis are brave and have been looking evil in the eye for months now in order to see justice prevail.
George Floyd’s life was taken almost a year ago now. I know because it happened about a week after my niece, Aeva’s 15th birthday. And about a month before she took her own life.
His death occurred just blocks from her house here in Minneapolis and it affected her immensely. She was the most beautiful soul that was ever to grace the earth and it’s my belief that she was too good for this world.
Watching the verdict come in yesterday I knew that she’d be crying right next to me with relief that this man was being held accountable for this senseless death. And I knew that she’d see it as a symbol of progress in the fight for black lives in our community. But the truth is that it’s a small step - one that was incredibly important and incredibly symbolic - but small when considering the bigger picture.
I wish I could say that I know what the next step is, but I don’t. I just know that keeping quiet when others are dying isn’t it. I am incredibly privileged in that I don’t have to worry that it will be my life next. The reality is that I can say that because of my skin color - and anyone who disagrees with me is frankly, wrong. The criminal justice and policing system in the United States (yes the entire US) were both created with racism interweaved into their very framework.
Because I am not a historian, a scholar, or an expert on any social issues including systemic racism - here are some books I have/am/will read that I suggest you read as well. For now, thank you to the Black, brown, and white allies here in Minneapolis and across the world who held George Floyd in their hearts and continue to do what they can to fight for a more racially equal country, and world.
