The Video - George Floyd

56 years later, and the song is still relevant. This is not about bashing police officers, white people, authority, or America.  It's about freedom, basic human rights, and truth. America is the land of the free because of the brave, and despite what some would like to pretend, people of color have fought and died for this country on a large scale. They serve and protect, teach and educate, build businesses, and raise children to be good humans, just like other good humans strive to do. With that said:

SILENCE is VIOLENCE. If you find racism to be an uncomfortable topic, imagine the discomfort of every mother of a black or brown child in America every time her son walks out of her sight. 

    I hold no rights to this song or video.#SamCooke #AChangeIsGonnaCome #Vevo

The video of George Floyd’s death is a horrifying nightmare, but the image is not new. It is one that millions of mothers have watched play out in their minds daily for generations. It was never imaginary, and tragically, the entire world has finally glimpsed the very real danger of being born black. 

The video played long before it was recorded and broadcast for the world to see. It was created repeatedly for generations with different actors and different directors. The video was edited and sanitized for years. Watered down versions with convenient explanations and shallow assurances surfaced here and there. Occasionally a picture, or some sound clips would emerge on a national scale, but it never appeared in its entirety. It was relegated to whispered stories passed down through the generations.It was mentioned in conversations among families.They shared the story to support expected behaviors and actions that they were compelled to explain at length to the youngest descendants. 

It has played in the collective subconscious of people of color, their families, and those who love them for years. Truth can be very painful, but it is necessary.  Real freedom will never exist without truth. How sad, but appropriate, that a terrified but determined young girl of color recorded this heinous video from beginning to end, without embellishment or edits, and courageously released it to the world. Sadly, she will forever carry this harrowing experience burned into her soul. 

George Floyd, a gentle giant who lived with real world problems, died in a nightmarish black experience that even ethical, educated, law abiding leaders who are people of color face when they travel outside an area where others know them and their character. 

The George Floyd video is explosive, not because of George Floyd, but because of the full length video that illustrates to many that what was done in the dark, is coming to the light. (Note:if you are sharing and promoting conspiracy theories about the video being staged,YOU are part of the problem. Just stop it.)

When people of color, and black people specifically, are presumed to be of poor character, it is unacceptable.  When they are presumed to be dangerous, but it is so deeply ingrained in social belief systems that people are not cognizant of the bias, (see Amy in the park video below) it is unacceptable. When they are treated as less than other humans in the same situations, that is blatant, unrepentant racism.   

It may be the elephant in the room. It may go against the way you were brought up. It may go against family members and people you love. It may go against what you were taught growing up. It may be awkward. You may not understand. You may not have the right words. You may not even have the right questions. Ask anyway. Talk anyway. Discuss it. 

That song brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it when I was a child and didn’t even fully understand. Never would I have imagined seeing the same fight and people still needing to protest civil rights in 2020. We can do better. We must do better. As a society, we are going to rise or burn together. More to come.