News

Nyack Sketch Log: 400 Years of George Floyds

Published

June 2, 2020

by Bill Batson

During a rally of more than 1,000 residents of all races and ages held on June 1 outside the Nyack Center, the crowd took a silent knee for 9 minutes. They were rounding up by 14 seconds the time that Minneapolis, Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on the neck of an unarmed, handcuffed George Floyd, ultimately killing him.

But to understand the convulsion of anger and anguish that this murder has produced across the country, you need to consider another number: 400. Last year was the 400th anniversary of the moment when 20 enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. The nonchalant manner of Floyd’s killer was more akin to a slave master than an officer of the law. Four centuries of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, political assassinations, and mass incarceration in America have found their modern expression. Our lynchings are now broadcast.

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In honor of the ancestors that have endured the relentless scourge of racism on American soil, I’ve listed one name of an unarmed African American killed by the police for each year from 1619 to 2019: 400 years of George Floyds. Speaking at yesterday’s youth-led demonstration, Nyack Pastor Everett L. Newtown said it took the COVID-19 pandemic to uncover the pandemic of racism. Ironically, the community that has the highest fatality rate when exposed to the coronavirus has engaged in mass-mobilization, where keeping social distance is difficult, to demand justice for George Floyd. (Heartened by how many masks were worn at yesterday’s protest. Well over 80%!) This is not the first, nor will it be the last time that African American sacrifice has challenged our country to hold true to its founding principals of liberty and justice for all.

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Seven nights of protest and unrest have followed in the aftermath of Floyd’s death. The lawlessness of counterproductive rioting rising from lawless environments seeded by a litany of recent murders of unarmed African Americans, with some lives stolen by those sworn to uphold the law. The National Guard has been dispatched to over 20 states. Significant protests are being held in over 120 cities. It’s as if our nation went from quarantine to chaos in 9 seconds. 400 years and 9 seconds.

Please note: The list was not easy to compile. According to the Washington Post, the federal government does not compile data on how many people are shot by police officers each year. Think about that. Thanks to my colleague, Clyde Lederman, I found MappingPoliceViolence.org, which draws from 3 databases, FatalEncounters.org, the U.S. Police Shootings Database, and KilledbyPolice.net.