So, I’ve been watching the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin and I have to tell you that this case to me is very simply a case of humanity versus brutality. It is a test of the human spirit and shows why so many feel this country is broken and the spirit of this nation is not intact as it should be. If you have watched the trail the first three days and have seen the video footage of the heinous and inexplicable murder of George Floyd, there is no way that can’t come away moved and emotional. To watch a man have his life taken away from him in front of you. To hear him calling out for his mother and officer Chauvin show no type of remorse or care for the Mr. Floyd. For him to continually say that he can’t breathe, that he was in pain, that his body was hurting and for the officer to dig his knee even deeper into his neck. If you watch the body position of the officer it is clearly an aggressive and intentional posture. He had his hands in pockets or at his waist, which indicates he had no intention of getting off Mr. Floyd until he was dead, not moving and unresponsive. For nine minutes and twenty nine seconds, that man had his knee deeply implanted into the back of George Floyds neck. Despite cries from witnesses that he was having a hard time breathing, despite them saying they saw his face turn purple. People saying they saw his nose bleed, they saw his life being pressed out of him, until he eventually gave way to the force and died.

That was inhumane, that was barbaric, that was intentional, that was cruel and unusual punishment, that was excessive force. What ever legal terminology you want to use to describe the actions of this former officer, he committed murder. He killed that man in cold blood and had no reason to do so, and it has nothing to do with Blue Lives Matter or the Thin Blue Line or any of that bullshit. Derek Chauvin was not in any imminent danger from George Floyd at any point in time. There was zero need for the amount of force that he used to subdue and ultimately kill George Floyd. I don’t want to hear any excuses for his behavior. Can we please as a nation and as a people call this particular incident what it was, Murder! You can hear George Floyd begging and pleading for his life. Saying that he will do whatever the officers want him to do. You hear witnesses begging Derek Chauvin to take his knee off Mr. Floyd’s neck. They pleaded for them to check on his welfare to make sure he was breathing. The store clerk was shaken and disturbed. All the people who saw this scene were shocked, shaken and dismayed that they were witnessing a murder in front of their eyes, and none of the officers who were on the scene seemed to give a damn about whether or not Mr. Floyd lived.

As a black man in America we already know that there is a target on our back as big as the Hollywood sign in LA. We know that we are always assumed guilty and we’re always assumed to be aggressive and potentially violent, even if we are not. No matter what, once the police were called on George Floyd he was going to be subject to profiling and prejudice because in most cases that is the automatic assertion from law enforcement. Let’s understand this situation plainly so everyone can understand. We had a man go to multiple business establishments in Atlanta, Georgia and kill eight people! He walked out of that situation with his life and well being. A man walked into a grocery store and fired off numerous rounds, killing ten people! He was superficially wounded, but he walked away from the scene whole! George Floyd used a fake twenty dollar bill to by a pack of cigarettes! A pack of damn cigs! And he lost his life. What are the factors here between these three crimes. Two of them are Felony Murder! One was a misdemeanor. Two were heinous, resulted in numerous lives lost, one resulted in no harm being done at all to the establishment, but one man lost his life. Oh, that’s right.. the two murder suspects were fair skinned, White men. George Floyd was a black man. Case closed. The Black community is watching intensely as this trial progresses. When this jury delivers its verdict, it will really tell you if the spirit of this nation is broken, or on the mend to repair. Stay tuned. It’s emotional to watch and hard to stomach, but we must see injustice to fix injustice.

Black Lives Matter