Black Lives Matter 2020

First published June 2020, Telegram & Gazette

It is said the first step in solving any problem is admitting there is one. The problem that America is coming face to face with right now is that of the systemic racism brought to the forefront by the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police.

In the days following his death, protests have spread from Minneapolis to both cities and small towns across the country, declaring that Black Lives Matter.

The NAACP adapted a new call to action befitting the anger of a disenfranchised group of Americans. "WE ARE DONE DYING."

New York, as a major city with a history of police brutality, became an outpost of protest as residents rallied around the movement. Protests sprung up all across the city, and riots and looting came shortly after. Due to the violence, Mayor DeBlasio instated an 8 p.m. mandatory curfew. Anyone out past that time was subject to arrest.

In the past week the police were arresting up to 200 people a night, those arrests consisted of both peaceful and violent protesters. On Thursday, Terrence Floyd, George Floyd's brother, spoke and led a peaceful protest out of Brooklyn. As we have seen over the past few weeks, the images of officers kneeling and embracing protesters have run parallel to the images of officers attacking protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Following the changes that had taken over New York City as the Epicenter of the Coronavirus, the energy of the city has drastically shifted once again.

Walking to work last Wednesday was the first time I saw the Upper West Side completely boarded up. The stores that have been closed for months due to the Pandemic have now taken a step further into blocking their stores from being easily looted. The boards came following destruction from Brooklyn, to midtown and all the way up to the Bronx.

The curfew banned all cars from driving below 96th street and so anyone who was out between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. had to be able to show an essential worker ID to the police that surrounded the island of Manhattan. A curfew had not been set in New York City since 1943 and drew major backlash from New Yorkers. It was quickly lifted by the end of the weekend.

Last Tuesday afternoon I joined a peaceful protest. Police cars and officers were bordering the hundreds of people marching. I did not feel threatened or in danger, but that is also my privilege as a white person walking the streets. I felt I needed to be there because I believe that there are good police officers and I believe there are bad police officers. The bad are being protected by a system that we are socialized into believing protects all of us.

This brings me to the current state of conversation in America. It is not my place to say how and when and where people protest, I can only control what I do from here on in. The world feels chaotic and bleak but within the dissent there is a great optimism. We are in a time of opportunity that can define a generation for the better.

It is a question that we ask ourselves as children in history class when we learn about oppression. The answer comes easy in the classroom. Of course we tell ourselves we would have done the right thing. However, the real test comes outside the classroom where actions have consequences. We can do the right thing.

These protests now have the eyes of America and the eyes of the world. Those who want justice for the life of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are working for a stop gap to succeed these protests. The next step must move the ball further down the field and break the horrific cycle of the violence and murder of black people in America.

Former President Barack Obama is actively reaching out to the country, providing specific direction for a more equitable future, starting with government.

"The more specific we can make demands for criminal justice and police reform, the harder it will be for elected officials to just offer lip service to the cause and then fall back into business as usual once protests have gone away," he said.

For those critical of the protests they see on the news or in the streets, it serves as a good reminder that it is the right of the American people to protest as they are protected under their First Amendment rights that we all enjoy.

For those armed with the argument that "All Lives Matter," it should be said slowly and out loud that, " All lives cannot matter unless Black Lives Matter."

It is impossible for a white person to ever understand or speak on behalf of a black person, and their experiences. The work that needs to be done now will be in both listening and using our voices to support those who have been silenced.

This past week has sparked more conversation about race and racism than I have ever been privy to in my 25 years. As I have read so many times since the day of George Floyd’s death, I am privileged to learn about racism, rather than having to experience it.

A mirror is being held up to America right now. If we don't like what we see, then it is up to us, to change the reflection, not just the people holding the mirror. We have a problem and to be silent is to be complicit. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery. Endless more. Say their names.