The young have arisen and taken to the streets. Worldwide protest marches and mostly peaceful. Some walk up to 50 miles per day stopping every so often to kneel, pray, collectively gather momentum and for the most part, considering the millions worldwide who have taken it upon themselves to stand up for their future and for freedom, the right to live in peace. It cannot be denied these are astounding times.
10 days ago George Floyd woke in the morning in Minneapolis USA and would not have imagined that a heinous crime was about to befall him, leaving him without life. The world witnessing this in disbelief was outraged. By the end of the day he was as good as martyred – everyone knew his name. People took to the streets, not in thousands but tens of thousands – and the marches go on.
Every Black person in the USA knew exactly what had happened. Every Black person Europe, China, the Caribbean and Africa knew exactly what had happened. It had been happening in some places for decades, in the USA for centuries but it is often so remote that we exclaim how dreadful and try not to dwell on it for too long, painful as it is.
On 25th May 2020, the world was rested having had weeks of confinement due to the Covid 19 Lockdown –you could almost hear a pin drop in many streets. The monotony of the Covid 19 Lockdown which brought sadness and loss to many Black families had others disenchanted with the endless media rhetoric and opinions. So much so, that no-one actually missed the serious act of aggression by the very people who were supposed to be our protectors, on a Black man in broad daylight. Filmed and beamed around the world in almost live time through social media.
But, this was just one, in a long line of atrocities that have been kept hidden or deflected one way or another that were being committed on a people, Black people,with seemingly no justice nor recourse. Is England any different to the USA?
(Photo by WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
I challenge anyone in the major cities to tell me that they have never driven along and passed a Black man standing by his car, having been stopped for no apparent reason by the police. What do we do? Drive by and say “oh dear – again.”
What has happened to our society, that a generation of young Black boys can be picked off by gangs and intimidated into committing criminal acts by older gangs. They cannot call the police to protect them – why? Their parents did not trust the authorities, many having been victimised themselves so why would they. The result is they’re left open to well-hidden elements of society unseen, unknown. We need to open our eyes and see their fear.
Yet, today, a new voice has emerged. The voice of the young! A voice that was in slumber not knowing who to vote for or who actually understands their fears, whilst having little hope for their own future. They rise up and march with indignation in one voice, with one goal and now there is no choice but to see, listen and act.
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