It has been one entire year since George Floyd was murdered by a cop. The man took his last breaths under the knee of a White cop while a cell phone camera captured him pleading for his life.
We all saw it.
Floyd's murderer was found GUILTY on all charges in a trial.
However, this does not change the fact that Floyd's family and friends lost someone whom they love. It does not change the fact that many other families of Black and Brown people mourn the loss of their son/father/friend/boyfriend/husband/uncle/neighbor to aggression by cops.
George Floyd's story did shine a glaring light on the huge problems we have with both police brutality and racism.
One year later-- and many White people still refuse to do the work we need to do to work towards antiracism. Too many White people think that the BLM movement is anti-police. While I can only speak for myself, I believe in the BLM movement because I've seen how police can and do treat our siblings-of-color differently than they do people with my skin tone. For me, BLM is not saying that police lives don't matter-- it is merely calling attention [ and demanding accountability} for how cops interact with apprehending people-of-color.
The murder of George Floyd, and my response to it as a White person trying her best to work towards being antiracist has cost me friendships. I recall one friend in particular, whom I finally made the choice to unfriend and block on Facebook after his response to BLM. To be honest, my respect for him had been dwindling over the last few years-- but the line was crossed regarding BLM . In short-- I did not realize how racist this long-term friend had been until Floyd's murder illuminated the deep racial problems that lurked just below the surface of polite society.
One year later and some policies did change. But how many hearts and minds have really woke to the problem?
George Floyd mattered.
Black lives sill matter.
Sarah McCarren
25 May 2021
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