Two years ago today, George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin. The world collectively paused to watch the video all at once. Together, we mourned and hoped for justice. Before George Floyd’s murder, there was the Pulse Night Club, too many Synagogues and Mosques to count, and Emmanuel Baptist Church. After Floyd’s murder, we continued to mourn following the Nail Salon in Atlanta, the hate-fueled murders in Buffalo, and today we mourn the death of 21 beautiful souls murdered at a Texas elementary school. It seems unthinkable when you start to add together the number of times we have gathered to support each other and communities that have had to absorb and process a horrific crime and senseless death.

When will it change? We mourn each tragedy, yet it seems that our mourning has not changed the frequency of them. We acknowledge how horrible and senseless these killings are, yet that acknowledgment does not lead to change in gun laws. What will it take? Which community will be attacked next? How many people will be injured? Next time, will you know somebody that is personally impacted? The hardest reality to accept is that many of us agree there will be a “next time”.

While I am saddened by George Floyd’s murder, I am grateful for the opportunity to be reminded – on the 2nd anniversary of his death – to lift his name in remembrance, as it can be easy to sometimes go about our daily lives and tuck these memories in the hidden pockets of our brains. I recall how, shortly after Breonna Taylor’s murder, many of us committed to saying her name daily until justice was delivered. Well… I’ll be honest, it can be hard to sustain the daily retort as life presses on. You say it a little less each day and you look up and realize that you have not said “Breonna” or “George” (or whoever’s name you may be saying) in a long time. So, thank goodness for dates because it reminds us that it is important to remember and acknowledge the loss, but also to recall our ability and determination to come together in community and gather the will to fight on. We must fight on for equality because if some of us are not safe, then all of us are at risk. We have to fight to feel the pain of the moment and the reality that there is more pain to come. Going numb is not the solution as we will risk being lulled into a state of acceptance of this hostility and hate. We must lean in and demand change from those in power. We must do these things until we reach a point that allows us to honestly say, we believe these occurrences are not likely to happen again.

Until we can say that, we must remember. We must remember each incident, each person, each name, each family, and each community. We must embrace and protect each other.

And, once we can say that it will not happen again, we still must remember to ensure that it doesn’t.

My hearts and prayers are with the families of those we lost in Uvalde, Texas.

 

Dr. Lisa

Our theme song is “Someday We’ll All Be Free” by Donny Hathaway.