Wednesday, June 17, 2020

8 MINUTES AND 46 SECONDS

No one knew exactly how long that was until George Floyd was murdered.

Eight minutes and 46 seconds. 

Have you sat for that long? Have you timed it?

I did.

It's a helluva a long time.

It is almost 4 commercial radio songs. 

It is 8 commercials on TV. 

It is 16  thirty second commercials on TV.  

It is half of a quarter of football. 

It is almost a full quarter in basketball.

It is microwaving 3 bags of popcorn. 

It is how long pasta needs to cook to be al dente.

That is a long time to kneel.

I tried that as well. I could barely get up after kneeling for that long.

If you haven't sat still and timed it; I challenge you to do it now.

Eight minutes and 46 seconds it how long it took for someone to take a life.

Think about that the next time we are standing in line for two minutes. Think about that when we are waiting for that latte at Starbucks. Think about that when that red light catches us.

Eight minutes and 46 seconds is how long it took for George Floyd to lose his life.

Everything else doesn't seem that important now, does it?

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

I CAN'T BREATH

That's what  he was saying before he died.

That is what we all have been saying as a country this week.

That is what we shall continue to say for months and years to come.

The question I have...How long will the protests go on? How long with this be the ''in'' protest? How long will our young people raise up their voices?

For so long, the pandemic took control of our lives, our media and our social networks. 

Now this has our attention, but for how long?

This type of brutality happens almost weekly and yet we are not out marching and raising our voices.

This type of brutality happens in the black community daily. It may not lead to murder but it leads to false arrests, it leads to broken bones or fractured nerves. It leads to black men and black women being afraid to leave their homes and cross paths with certain officers.

Black lives matter but so do the brown lives, the homeless lives and all lives.

We, Black Americans, have become used to treatment like this. Which is so sad. 

The difference is; now there are camera's to record what we have been saying for years. 

That we are treated differently than our white neighbors, friends and sometimes white family members.

When will America listen?

The protests are NOT just about George Floyd. It is about the human rights of Black Americans.

The civil rights of black Americans have always been of concern.

Now you have the military involved. Look at pictures from the 60's, are these the times we are about to experience? 

I surely hope not.

We have much to do on this issue and being silent is no longer an option.