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We all woke up to another pandemic. It has shook, and is still shaking the world. The new pandemic takes the name ‘black lives matter. But where is this pandemic from?
George Floyd’s name is now known around the globe.
His death has sparked protests from Berlin to Mexico City. The manner of cruelty associated with his death is better seen than told.
The way in which he was killed has shocked the world. But his death has resonated so widely, not because it was exceptional, but because it was inhumane.
How the world responded to this tragedy is overwhelming. The protests, and the number of people who took time off their schedule to express their grievances is alarming.
I will not call this pandemic a novel one because, it has long existed. Yes!
Blacks have been painted black from the onset. Everything white is pure, and every black thing is evil.
That is the portrait and handwriting on the wall. Portraits of angels, and historic Biblical drawings are all designed with white people. Easter and Christmas movies have a cast of white people.
In our educational system, the black cat is noted for bad luck. The black sheep of the family is noted for mischief. Yet, the US President lives in the White House.
Do black lives matter? Yes, of course.
While these protests go on, African citizens continue to lament the extreme cruelty being faced by their citizens abroad..
Though there is an iota of honour in the African American experience, they also recognise the commonality of black struggles elsewhere, and more broadly, the fight for human rights.
The statement “I can’t breathe” is chillingly familiar. In Australia, the death of David Dungay was evoked. David, an indigenous man, uttered those words 12 times as he was restrained by prison guards.
In Britain, they were cried out by Jimmy Mubenga as security guards pinned the deportee to his plane seat.
Summing up, this maltreatment could happen to any of us. So, we need to rise up and show that black lives matter. We are not rising with weapons, but with loud voices. This can go a long way to give us racial equality.
8 minutes, 46 seconds. That’s how long the white police officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck, forcing him to plead “‘I can’t breathe” until he drew his final breaths. May this never happen again to any other person because of his skin color.
Black lives matter, so do all lives matter.
LONG LIVE ALL LIVES!!
LONG LIVE BLACK LIVES!!
