I saw a lot of pain yesterday, layered on top of wounds that haven't had time to scab, let alone fully heal. Those layers take a lot of effort to peel back to see how they were inflicted on us, to understand how to move forward in the right direction.
The pain comes not just from the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but also the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and the seemingly never-ending transgressions against people of color living across the United States.
I'm an African-American born and raised in Pittsburgh. I love my city. But that doesn't mean I overlook the problems that come with it. I learned about friendship and love here, but I also have many experiences of racism, exclusion and hatred, too. Most of the latter is not unique to our city, as we live in a country where all of that pain is embedded in our history. Racism is real, ongoing, and a daily enemy to our existence as African-Americans.
That's our enemy. The racism that's a lingering blight on our country.
And sometimes we forget that when we get caught up in the nonsense that can occur in the chaos, like yesterday. Protests aren't just for reminding everyone about what is wrong in the world, they're part of how those afflicted by those wrongs deal with it. We fight for our future while we grieve over our pain.
Pittsburgh has provided examples of how we can do that in the best of ways.
Yesterday wasn't that.
As people were doing the good work of a peaceful protest Downtown, others saw an opportunity to bring chaos and senselessness to a moment of healing. Listen to the voice of the man in the video tweeted below as he cannot fathom why people would taint what was a proper display of civil disobedience in response to the already senseless killing of Floyd.
I share the anger in this man’s voice as he tells them to stop, knowing they’re not there to grieve & fight with us but ruin the good work being done.
This didnt happen over Leon Ford or Antwon Rose, 2 of our own. Those responses were organized & peaceful.
This is hijacking. https://t.co/rrZS42FA9k
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) May 31, 2020
“In the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?” pic.twitter.com/Als3jhxaGH
— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) May 28, 2020
I’m woefully unqualified to speak to the underlying issues that led to the murder in Minneapolis, and all else that’s followed.
I can assure you the individual below is beyond qualified. And it’s some of the most brilliant public speaking you’ll ever hear. https://t.co/9Y71dpK871
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) May 30, 2020
