6 minute read
TIMES OF SOLIDARITY
Times of Solidarity or Times of Discourse?
In a time of unprecedented compassion and unity, George Floyd’s death proved that issues of race and discrimination have not gone away.
Will there ever be an end to discriminatory
For the past few months it has felt like all other news stories have ground to a halt. No climate change, no elections, not even Brexit(!) has been broadcast on our screens. Instead, the ‘new normal’ became the rise and fall of death tolls, graphs pointing out the countries coping the best with the virus and the countries not coping at all. A sense of solidarity and unity arose across communities, across countries, and across the world. Anniversaries of tragic incidents like the Manchester Arena bombing and London Bridge terror attack passed us by while we sat at home, in a very different world.
This changed on Monday 25 th May, when a string of racist incidents in America flew into mainstream media. The first was a video shared by Christian Cooper, an African American man, politely asking a white woman called Amy Cooper to put her dog on the lead, as per the instructions, in Central Park. The situation quickly escalated when Ms Cooper refused to do so and threatened to call the police on Mr Cooper, stating, “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.” What followed was a disturbing call to 911, in which Ms Cooper put on a distraught voice and told the responder that she was being threatened. This demonstration of blatant racism and nod to the old standing power-dynamics of race in America was particularly unsettling when a new story broke out later that day. George Floyd was murdered on the
evening of Monday 25 th May in Minneapolis,
Minnesota in an act of police brutality. The outcome of Christian Cooper’s situation could have been the same as George Floyd’s, but fortunately the police made no arrests and Amy Cooper later apologised for her actions.
George Floyd was a 46 year-old man, he worked as a security guard at a restaurant, and had moved to Minnesota ‘to be his best self’, as one friend said. In accounts and messages of love, friends and family
violence?
described him as ‘a gentle giant’, a loving father, ‘a very calm, nice guy’ and ‘loved by all’. George Floyd was well-known in his community, but now, unfortunately, he is well-known to the world as an example of the issues of race and abuse of power deep-rooted in America. A shop keeper had reported to police that he believed someone was trying to pass some counterfeit money, and when they arrived they arrested Floyd. What followed was the haunting video recorded on a phone, of a policeman pinning Floyd down by the neck, for seven minutes, while Floyd gasped “I can’t breathe”. Eventually the policeman removed his knee, but Floyd was limp and unresponsive. He was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Police statements said Floyd was in ‘medical distress’, but made no mention to the fact this distress was at the hands of an officer. In the phone footage of the incident you can hear passers-by plead for the officer to get off him, and eventually to check his pulse, while Floyd tells the officer he cannot breathe 15 times. Since Monday, the four police officers have been fired, and mass protests have taken place in Minneapolis, but what will come next?
What do we think when we see an incident like this - “How has this happened again?” or “What would have happened if someone didn’t film this?” It is an uncomfortable question to think about; because the answer is probably both. It begs the question: how many other deaths have there been like this that have gone unnoticed? How many more times does this have to happen before we see a change?
Perhaps we found George Floyd’s death that much more disturbing because of the wave of unity we have felt over the past few months. Stories of neighbours helping neighbours, volunteering to do more, and random acts of kindness seemed to temporarily wash away the veil of hate and discrimination from our screens. But this has shown it is worryingly easy for it to return. Times like these are strange, because events that unify us, can very easily put discriminatory acts back on the rise. We saw it in the rise of islamophobia after terrorist attacks, and we saw it at the start of the Coronavirus against Asian communities both in the UK and the US. But this is different. These incidents weren’t triggered because of Coronavirus, but in spite of it. At a time when we hear ‘the new normal’ uttered every half an hour, these cases of racism seem to be fixed in time. Events like Covid-19 shift outlooks and change history. What will we remember? The differing and scrambling responses of countries to prepare? Or, the Clap for our Carers, the unity, the solidarity? If it is the latter, then we need to do more to change the entrenched racism across the world. US Representative Ilhan Omar stated, “Black lives matter isn’t just a chant, it’s a call for justice.” And with outcry from mayors, celebrities, and the global community, hopefully George Floyd will get the justice that he undoubtedly deserves. Perhaps we should be enamoured by the huge response this story has seen, proving that we are not willing to let these acts go unnoticed. Protestors have rallied for days on end in all fifty states and across the globe to demand justice. At the time of writing, a petition demanding justice for George Floyd has over 1.1million signatures. There is hope that these acts of both discrimination, as seen in the Christopher Cooper case, and discriminatory violence, as seen through the events surrounding George Floyd, will become far less common as each of us come to realise how precious and fleeting life is.
When we emerge from this pandemic, and we will emerge from it, our outlook will be changed. Take with you the unity, the solidarity, the hope, and remember those appalling cases of discrimination and violence. Keeping George Floyd’s, and the many others lost to discriminatory violence, story with you will embolden you to challenge and speak up for what is right; and then perhaps discriminatory violence will become a thing of the past
Georgia, Senior Editor
“he would light up the room ” WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
SIGN
You can sign the change.org petition titled “Justice For George Floyd” seeking that the police officers involved are brought to justice. You can also sign the petition called Educating Our Children On Racism Through The School System on change.org to ‘educate our children on race, racism, its history, its effect, and its origin.’
DONATE
If you are able, you can donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund to help post bail to protestors who have been arrested. You can also donate directly to Black Lives Matter to support the fight against racism.
EDUCATE
It’s difficult to change something if you do not understand it. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Beloved by Toni Morrison are amazing novels highlighting racial injustice. I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing is Maya Angelou’s memoir, an incredible read that deals with acute racism and prejudice, but also highlights strength of character and hope. If you’re looking for a video, I would highly recommend the TED talk by Baratunde Thurston on How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time, available on YouTube.
