The Apathetic States of America
Where dehumanization reigns and White supremacists get the benefit of a doubt
The world is watching the trial of Derek Chavin. We all want to see what will become of the police officer responsible for the vicious and brutal murder of George Floyd.
Millions of us were left traumatized after watching Chavin callously kneel on the neck of Mr. Floyd with his entire body weight in broad daylight while literally sucking the life out of him.
It will live forever in my mind as a modern-day lynching and gave me a sense of dread for what my ancestors had to witness time after time. Seeing his lifeless body lifted onto a stretcher in such a dehumanizing way made me imagine how Black people felt seeing lifeless bodies hanging from trees roughly snatched down after their public murders.
Many of us are all too familiar with the viciousness of racism in America. Mr. Floyd’s televised murder didn’t awaken us to the atrocities experienced by Black people in this country — it only validated what we and our elders have said for centuries. So I prepared myself to settle in to watch this trial for the long haul to ensure I’d have a first-hand account of the verdict when it is rendered and to advocate for justice from the sidelines.
