China Daily, May 25th "Mom, mom, I can't breathe..." In the last minutes of his life, African American Floyd (Floyd) called desperately. On May 25, 2020, white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds while arresting him, resulting in his death. The video shocked the world and triggered large-scale anti-racism demonstrations by tens of thousands of Americans. On May 24, local time, the " Washington Post " published a report titled "Two years after Floyd's murder, the original protesters reflect on what has changed" and interviewed several demonstrators at the time. Here are my feelings about life in the past two years.
“We are not healing.” — Maria Tovar, 20
Tovar is a musician who in recent months has begun writing her own songs that capture her disappointment in her beloved city, Use this to vent your pain and share it on social media. "Hopefully this city gets more sunshine than rain, I'd be lying if I said my city wasn't bleeding," she wrote recently after two murders in north Minneapolis. "We're not healing," she said of the surge in violent crime.
Tovar, who is Native American and Hispanic, knew about the existence of racism long before Floyd's death. At her St. Paul high school, she would feel glares from white students and said family members had been abused by law enforcement. But after Floyd was killed, she became more cautious. She said that in the summer of 2020, she and two black friends were stopped for speeding 10 miles over the speed limit. "I told everyone in the car: 'Don't say anything. Make sure they see your hands.'" She recalled that the officer had called two police cars for backup. "I roll all the windows down so they can see we have nothing."
"More black men are dying in Minneapolis." - Josh Melton ( Josh Melton, 31
Melton has been waiting for a change. Two years ago, Melton (who is white) and his wife, Hope (who is black), took their 5-year-old daughter Izzy to a protest, hoping that Chauvin would pay for his crimes and that Minnie Police officers in Apolis take responsibility for their actions. Although the jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder and sentenced him to 22.5 years in prison, Melton was not hopeful. He said more black men have died in the Minneapolis area since Floyd's death, including Daunte Wright and Amir Locke, two African-American men. also died at the hands of white police).
“Much of the work to end racism rests with white people.” —Susan Larson, 55
For months, Larson called 911 multiple times, asking police to investigate the wave of violence where she lived. responded to a domestic violence and gun incident at Lero's apartment. She said the Minneapolis Police Department did nothing until an officer shot and killed Amir Locke four days after she moved out.
"They kept telling me they had more important things to do," she said. Since Floyd's death, violent crimes have surged in Minneapolis, and problems such as a severe police shortage have also emerged. Larson remains deeply committed to eradicating any bias she hears and hopes to return to diversity and inclusion work. She said much of the work to end racism rests with white people. "We're the ones who did the wrong thing," she said. "I don't consider myself a racist, but that doesn't mean I'm innocent."
Honoring Floyd in his own way - Styler ·Starla Wesley, 43 years old
Two years ago, when Wesley was watching the video, she seemed to see herself, her son and her father in Floyd. Wesley said that when she was 15 years old and living in a predominantly black community in Omaha, she was choked by a police officer and her adoptive mother's painful cries saved her life. She has lived with suspicion of the police ever since.Watching Floyd plead for breath touched her heart. Over the past 10 months, she has become a member of the Multicultural and Ethnic Council, working with police to try to address racial discrimination. She saw it as a way to honor Floyd.
“No-knock search warrants raise racial issues.” —Doran Schoeppach, 58.
About six years before Floyd was killed, Schoeppach conducted a search warrant in South Minneapolis. Witnessed police brutality through the windows of their homes. He saw eight or nine police officers surrounding a handcuffed black man, some kicking him as other officers looked on. Xiao Peiqi said he wanted to go out and stop the police, but he was petrified. "I don't even know if I've forgiven myself," he said. After watching the video of Chauvin pressing Floyd's neck, he knew he had to do something and has since participated in multiple rallies and marches honoring Floyd. Schopage said Floyd's death made him more aware of issues that affect people of color, such as no-knock search warrants. He is pushing for more diverse voices in his school district through various committees and proposals.
“Think hard about how to stay optimistic about the future.” — Vincent Kim, 20
The son of Vietnamese and Korean immigrants, Kim always wondered about his place in Minneapolis . “I think Minneapolis is one of the quintessential cities that effectively redlines a metropolitan area,” he said. "This is clearly a racially segregated city." But as he reflects on the spate of violence against Asians and other minorities, he's also grappling with how to remain optimistic about the future.
He was dismayed last year when he saw women who looked like his mother and grandmother shot to death by a white man. One official said the white man was just "having a bad day." When he thinks about Floyd, he grieves for the humanity that was taken away from him in his final minutes.
“Tired of seeing black people killed by police.” — Becky Waters, 47, and Deevo, 55
Waters and her fiancé Deevo both in 2020 participated in demonstrations that summer demanding justice for Floyd, but for a different reason. Waters, who is white, wants children to understand the inequality that exists against black people in America. "And DeVoe, who grew up in Chicago, was tired of seeing black people killed by police. He had suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome since a 1999 run-in with white Minneapolis police. During protests As he pumped his fists and sought justice at the event, the pain made him realize that things hadn't changed.
"We haven't seen much change in two years. ” — Jada Nutter, 41
Nutter still remembers the sound of sirens and the smell of fire that filled her yard in the summer of 2020. The stay-at-home mother of four was killed after Floyd died After spending weeks explaining to her children how people of color have historically been mistreated by people in power, such as police, in the United States, Nutt said she and her husband wanted to have a balanced conversation and not give one group the benefit of the doubt. Label good and bad.
Nat's father is black and her mother is white. She remembers how hard her mother worked to organize her neighbors to build a safer community, and how she sometimes felt about the job. Frustrated. “The lack of change in the system left her exhausted. " Nutter said. When Nutter looks around two years later, she understands the frustration. "I was hoping that the Floyd incident could be a catalyst for change," she said. "But now it's been two years and we Haven't seen much change yet. "
(Compiler: Hu Xiaoshan Editor: Han He)
Source: China Daily website
