MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It is a shame that protests, resulting in confrontations, violence and destruction, are taking place in Minneapolis and other cities across America. But it is a crying shame that a now fired police officer’s brutality, resulting in the death of an unarmed and handcuffed black man, caused it all.
Hear me clearly. Setting fires and looting stores are the wrong responses. But people are angry and hurting, and they are fed up. We literally watched a sworn officer of the law keep his knee pressed down on the neck of George Floyd long enough to kill him. The officer was oblivious to Floyd’s desperate pleas that he could not breathe. And now, America is again gripped by the horrors of racism and brutality.
The protests in the streets nationwide are a natural response to that brutality. Even here in Memphis, strained relations between police and community activists have been simmering just under the surface for the last few years. The demonstration Wednesday night on Union Avenue only became confrontational when a small group of counter-protesters showed up shouting racial slurs. And police have been criticized for being too heavy handed against the demonstrators.
The point is, we are at a tipping point. And we have no calming leadership coming from the White House. But there must be justice in the Floyd case. Otherwise, I fear the worse. Not just in Minnesota, but elsewhere as well. And that’s my point of view.