DAY 80

I have not been able to write for days. It should be quite enough that we are suffering a worldwide tragedy like nothing else in our lifetime. But no, evidently it is not. The shocking death of yet one more African American is tearing this country apart. George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis Police officer while three other officers stood by and watched. The man was handcuffed, on the ground, on his face. Yet Derek Chauvin deemed it necessary to kneel on his neck for nine minutes. Nine minutes while George Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe, crying for his mother. After six minutes George Floyd stopped struggling. He was dead, but Derek Chauvin continued to kneel on his neck. Several bystanders videotaped this travesty. I refuse to watch the video. I just cannot have that image in my brain.

The four officers were fired, but no arrests were made for five long days. Finally, Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three officers who stood by while George Floyd was murdered have not been charged. The protests, the outrage, the horror, are being expressed around the world. Night after night in cities all across America and around the world, people have gathered. Wearing masks, carrying signs saying "Justice for George Floyd", "Black Lives Matter", "I can't breathe". Today the supposed leader of the free world had peaceful protestors teargassed so that he could have his picture taken while holding up a bible. When asked by a journalist if it was his bible, he responded "it's a bible".

The small town I grew up in gained a reputation for racism years ago. The leader of the Michigan KKK lived north of town. He and his cronies sowed hatred and caused African Americans to avoid coming here for fear of what might happen to them. As a child, I had no idea that our little town was known for this evil. As an adult, I was appalled to learn the reality. That man died twenty-eight years ago, but the stain on our community endures. This week a woman who works for the state of Michigan posted on social media that the first place in Michigan to burn should be Howell. It is heartbreaking to me to know that my home is viewed in this way. I am at a loss as to how I can help change this.

People of color continue to be murdered at the hands of those who are charged with protecting them. Every white American should feel shame in the face of this reality. We love to think that we are the greatest country on earth, yet America was built on a foundation of genocide and slavery. There is absolutely nothing "great" about that. We try to fool ourselves, distancing from the sins of our forefathers, but the horror goes on and on. Generation after generation. We continue to kneel on the necks of black and brown people. Choking off their opportunities, their hope, their very lives.