“I can’t breathe, man.”
At this point, your heart is racing, so many questions running through your head. Wondering:
What the hell is going on??
A 46-year-old African-American man, reported to the cops for buying cigarettes with a counterfeit bill in Minneapolis.
You don’t know who this man is, but you wonder why this has made the headlines—why you are seeing daunting pictures and hashtags erupting on social media platforms around the world.
“Please.”
The video continues to play as we watch the struggle of the African American man in the hands of these cops… watching as they treat George Floyd in the most inhuman degradation possible.
“I can’t breathe.”
Lump starts forming and blood starts to churn to the eyes of the millions of people around the world including you and me. The angles all change, as we are presented with the view from 17-year-old Darnell Fraiser recording the ticking bomb of truth.
“Please, the knee in my neck—I can’t breathe sh*t.”
Vulgar language and the utmost rage erupts, tears start to come down to even the eyes of those who swore to never cry—watching as this white police officer whose name gives the most upmost pain to mention keeps his knee and the weight of his body on George Floyd neck.
George Perry Floyd.
A human being…just like the 7.5 billion people who open their eyes by the grace of God….a man who bleeds cherry-red color blood…the same as you and me.
“I can’t breathe.”
Watching as in 8 minutes and 46 seconds his precious life was stolen from him…to the disbelief of witness to this murder…to the disbelief of the nation…to then the disbelief of the world.
“Police brutality.” This phrase ringing in the ears of many—a phrase that has been echoed around the black community—the pain and emotions screaming and scraping the air. Millions of people who know about these injustices…know about the horror…know how inhuman and how long this has been going.
And then it snaps.
Literally it snaps. The floodgates of Heaven that have been kept quiet—little water currents flowing through the cracks and crevices just erupts, and the world is taken by surprise.
Streams of people fill the pavement within hours of this event—nothing holding anyone back. The whole police force taking by surprise—trying to control the truth but it’s just too much. The truth has overwhelmed them.
The truth has overwhelmed the whole world.
So many people around the world—all different backgrounds—come together. There was no holding back, watching as history was being written with every breath that screamed the pain and injustices of the world.
“NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE.”
“NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE.”
“NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE.”
Cops trying to maintain order knowing this was a truth their “weapons” or “powers” can’t hide any more… streets being filled every inch with people with signs-vocalizing the truth… in the midst of it, there is those select handful…those criminals…secretly enjoying this as they lick their greedy lips and prey there selfish fantasies and desires into these stores and business—among them in which many innocent people have dedicated their lives to.
It’s a nightmare—you keep waving your hand in front of your face but it’s a reality you can’t escape.
But you know what you need to do. They tried hiding the power—the voice that we as a community of young people of color have. You see it around you. You see through the fake media outlets and you know the truth—we all know it.
As I sit behind my computer, writing this at 4:00 am in the morning, I can’t help to look out to the quiet of the sky and smile, just knowing.
Knowing around the world George Floyd’s name is ringing—shaking the world to its core.
Knowing that as long as we continue to fight and contribute to this change, we are ensuring a bright future—a long-needed change that just can’t be kept quiet.
Knowing that George Perry Floyd is looking down on us—breathing and smiling.
We are the future. We are the legacy. We Matter.