George Floyd’s Death Will Not Be In Vain by Robert Covington Jr.
At first, I did not want to see the gruesome murder of George Floyd on Youtube. It was only a few weeks ago that I regretted watching the brutal slaying of Ahmaud Arbery by racist Georgia men in broad daylight. A part of me believes that the public viewing of black death has become pornographic in some ways. For anyone that has ever watched porn before, we can agree that porn evokes stimulation, curiosity and intrigue. You get what you get from it and then you move on. The comparison seems applicable to the larger public in the witnessing of black death on TV. Our black bodies have become a sensationalist, more sadistic form of entertainment filtered through news cycles with little intent to address the trauma of our losses, our individual and collective humanity and the righteous calls for systematic change and justice.
But the outrage seemed more acute this time, so I decided to watch the George Floyd video. Now I know why. I watched it alone in my living room late at night and my eyes swelled up in anger and sadness. George Floyd was tortured on a public street for all to see for almost nine minutes by a police officer named Derek Chauvin, a man that wanted to feature his barbaric inhumanity at the expense of a black man’s life.
The nine minutes of watching George Floyd die that inspired a worldwide movement is because millions of people saw a part of themselves in George Floyd. For some, Floyd lying helplessly on the ground and at the complete control of corrupt power with no recourse felt analogous to millions of people in poverty, living in unlivable conditions and at the unrepentant mercy of corrupt governments and societies — saw Floyd in them.
For some white Americans, watching Floyd die a slow, excruciating death at the hands of police finally forced them to confront the ugliness of white denial. The denial that told them that the worst of police do not reflect an element of white supremacy because for so long, they’ve tried to find an irrational reason to justify or condone black death and avoid pressuring police accountability for clear wrongdoing. For some, they finally made the connection that their longstanding silence is the complicity that gave Derek Chauvin the confidence to believe that his recorded public lynching would not result in consequences.
I would venture to say that for many black Americans, Chauvin’s reaction to the casual killing of Floyd represented the deadly arrogance of police brutality and a rogue operation that is completely out of control. A criminal justice system that has fostered a growing belief within police culture that they are literally above the law with overt protection from the state when it comes to black lives. We have seen for years that videos rarely matter in obtaining justice, let alone fundamental change and reform.
We are well versed in the bogus narratives of fearing for their life, falsified police reports, the silence of good cops for fear of retribution, police unions protecting bad cops at all costs, and white juries giving their stamp of approval with legal exoneration. Even in this horrific case, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has already prepared the public that a conviction will be difficult.
However, America and many parts of the world have decided to let George Floyd know that he is breathing right now through the voices of millions that march, protest and push for change more quietly and away from the TV screen. Floyd’s unjustified suffering has ignited a movement built on solidarity, humanity and desire for a better world. We will need time to determine how much change was achieved. But George Floyd should take comfort knowing that he did not die in vain.
Follow me on twitter: @robcovingtonjr
