The Modern-Day Lynching of a Black Man by a White Police Officer

I once read a poem written by a West African writer – captioned ‘Death in the Dawn’. I will link the death of George to the limerick of that poem I read in my secondary school days. George Floyd died in the dawn May 25th, 2020, paying a huge price, for a trivial offense. Was he really paying a price for a venial sin? Or was his death destined to happen, to create awareness that ‘Black Lives Matter’, amongst the White Race? Despite, Michael Jackson’s song – Black or White, Martin Luther King’s Speech, Nelson Mandela’s speech, etc. still the oppression continues.

I will go with the later, for if George had known on that fateful day, time, hour, that his life would end so abruptly, within 8 minutes from police brutality inflicted upon him, he would have stayed at home. He never knew that the very law enforcement agents, who were meant to save his life, would gang up to end his life, in just eight minutes. He was viciously terminated, despite his desperate plea for mercy, ‘I can’t breathe’, as well as a call for his mother, yet the officer was unperturbed. However, his mum was not there to respond to his call, yet the malevolent police officer with his colleagues ignored his supplication. Father, God if thou should mark iniquity who will be exempt. I believe nobody, not even the newborn baby.

What could a defenseless and handcuffed man do? He could not do anything. The police officer knew this, but as he was on a mission to get rid of another black man from the street of Minneapolis, he continued to viciously kneel on his neck, bearing his weight on George, until he gave up His spirit. The officer continued to inflict his vicious racial intolerance on George. Hence, the dire plea from the public, shouts to free him were ignored.

I believe that George Floyd’s death was meant to be, in order to further expose the mind-set police officers have against the black community. Acts of brutality imbued by bigotry are nothing new, we just happen to have camera phones to expose, the intolerance and phobia some white people have been programmed to have. Let’s hope that his death will serve as a catalyst to speed up the enactment of policies, establishing equal rights, for black people, as their white counterparts. The ownership of America, between blacks and whites, must be equitable. Also to create the awareness that black people have contributed greatly to the economic development of America and our black ancestors suffered greatly to build the country. Besides, God created the human race with red blood flowing through both veins. Hence what makes one race believe that they are superior and the other is subordinate?

Although black people, indigenous or immigrants in America or other places around the world, have contributed immensely to the economic growth of the places they lived or migrate to. Yet they are always the people, continuously facing racial inequality, xenophobia, nepotism, and hatred, by the same people they served. The majority of white people are guilty of institutional racism and but can be quite passive about it. Black migrants would rather be in a job and pay tax, than claim social security benefits, as they know the very reason they migrated to their host countries. Therefore, stop this racial injustice against blacks and appreciate their contributions to society.
I was shocked to see that, amid the peaceful demonstration on ‘Black Lives Matter’, attended by both the white and black race; a white man was heard shouting at the protesters, ‘why don’t you go back to Africa, as if all the protesters were Africans. While others were repeatedly swearing and challenging them to a fight. Again, what is the counter-protest this Saturday all about? I would define it as, the reinforcement and perpetuation of racism by the whites. To my knowledge the White race has not been oppressed, nor have they been victim to systemic racism hence what have they got to protest about?

To be precise, tyrannical attitudes and hatred towards black people must stop, as George Floyd’s death has paid the price for Blacks liberation.

Author: Maria Fernandez

•