The Land of the ‘FREE’ is not 'FREE' for All!

The recent slaughter of George LLyod has me angry and upset that since the slaying of Rodney

King in 1991 in Los Angeles we are still witnessing brutality on a large scale of black men in the ‘United’ States of America. As cities across America uprising in protest at yet another senseless killing, today in London a protest took place in  Trafalgar Square.  "Say his name," some shouted, while others held placards reading "I can't breathe," the last words uttered by George Floyd, 46, before he died after a Minnesota police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck during an arrest on Monday 25th May.

Although Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday 28th May, riots across the U.S. continued over the weekend. Why?

Because black people across major american cities have had enough!! Enough of being treated as sub-standard human beings!  Enough of being treated as if their lives don’t matter. People around the world were still reeling from the Ahmad Abery killing by two white racists in February, and just 3 months later another senseless killing.

Since the inception of Black Lives Matter in 2013 where their goal is to encourage empathy for black communities, illustrate lingering institutional oppression and work towards policy changes that makes everyone safer, not much seems to have changed!

For instance, there have been 100’s of killings across American cities of black men and women at the hands of police brutality,  many of which do not make the mainstream news.  More worryingly,  in most cases, no charges have been brought against the officer/officers involved. A slew of data evidencing  this has been gathered by a research collaborative called Mapping Police Violence; which, makes for very interesting, but disturbing reading. (https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/)

I  lived in the San Francisco Bay area for almost 5 years in the early 2000’s and my reason for moving there was to escape the lack of opportunities here and the underlying racism that still pervades the United Kingdom.  My goal was to create a better life for me and my son by chasing the ‘American Dream’.   Although I created a great life for us, and to this day I miss the Bay area for a multitude of reasons, I am glad in many ways to be back in London  for all that I see happening to innocent black men and women across the pond. Racism here is definitely more covert, and yes black men in the UK have died at the hands of police brutality but not on the scale and frequency that is occurring in cities across America.

So whilst I sit here writing this piece and reading countless news reports from around the world of citizens protesting and uprising at yet another mindless killing of an innocent man,  I sadly suspect it will not be the last of 2020.

For more on this, listen to Sister Love: Untethered and Under the Radar Episode 26 podcast.

Author: Colleen Morgan