I first learned about George Floyd through a Facebook post, written by a white female broadcaster. She was horrified. Soon I saw other posts, always the same, outraged people decrying the circumstances of this man's death. My biracial daughter went to a protest in Chicago and was arrested while trying to protect a young black teenager from the policemen's batons. She showed me the bruises on her arm she got from the cops. Thankfully, she is back home and more determined than ever to speak up for justice.
The protests in Chicago have been well-televised, and there are many, many white people participating. I have heard the horror stories from my daughter of unequal treatment from the police, so I'm more aware than some about what can happen to black people. Not all police are bad, but the ones that are taint the whole force. It makes me sad and angry to think that some evil people have the power to abuse others, and to get away with it. Derek Chauvin, the man who murdered George Floyd, had multiple complaints against him, all of which were dismissed. George Floyd was failed by many, including the heads of the police department in Minneapolis.
But George Floyd, and many others who have died or been abused by the police, have been failed by society at large, particularly white society. We need to stand with our black brothers and sisters, we need to cry out, continually, for change, until that change is here. Human hearts need to change, but only God can do that. We can pray for people to change, for God to work upon their hearts, but we also need to demand that those who are responsible for committing evil be held accountable.
I told my daughter, who is active in Black Lives Matter, that white people are frustrated and angry, and feel helpless, because they don't know what to do. She told me, "Just be our allies, that's all we want".
That I will try to do. And I will use my voice to advocate for change, to demand change, to ask our human systems to restore accountability, to fight the tendency to gloss over seemingly small sins until they grow into something horrific and reprehensible, like the death of George Floyd. Let us do our best to make sure all people are treated equally under the law, by society, by the church, by teachers, by employers, by landlords and realtors, by all.
