We can’t breath.

I went to breakfast this morning with a teacher from high school, and George Floyd was a hot topic as he has been since May 25th, 2020. I have been running from the video of him being held down by law enforcement officers, kneeling on his body relentlessly. Across from my teacher, I sat in my chair, nibbling on a piece of slightly burnt toast listening to her passionately express her feelings toward not only the killing of George Floyd but of several of our black men. One thing that she and I share is the passion for writing and putting our thoughts of truth on paper in a way that hopefully impacts change. I wanted to write a piece on George Floyd’s death, and I felt that to do that effectively, I needed to watch the video.

“My face is gone (cries),” “I can’t breathe man.” “Please, please let me stand.” Please, please, man, I can’t breathe.”

In tears, I sat there listening to George Floyd beg for a basic human right — to breathe. I listened to this man ask for his life from people who are supposed to protect it.

Racism has always been a knee in our backs and our necks. We have been suffocated over and over again by an unabated killer named racism. How many campaigns do we need to launch? How many protests do we need to have? How many memorial services do we need to plan? How many black lives have to be taken? We cannot breathe! Our lives matter. We are not disposable. The unsettling anger that lives inside me lashes out when my pencil dances on paper.

My heart goes out to George Floyd’s family. He was not only a black man who fell victim to the dangerous hands of law enforcement, but a victim of the bloody hands of racism. He was a father, a brother, a friend, a co-worker, a cousin, and a human being. I pray that in the future, our black sons and black daughters are met with respect, love, kindness, and equality and that they never have to ask those who should be protecting them for the right breath.

James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it’s faced.”