I am furious.
First, seeing yet another black man’s life snuffed out in living color on TV remains both nauseating and horrifying. As the mother of a young black man, I too had to have “the talk” with my son about taking precautions against potential deadly police encounters. It’s a conversation that most black mothers and fathers in America have with their sons — one they should not have to.
I do appreciate the wisdom recently imparted by my 26-year-old son, Bruce. He asked why my boomer generation and current millennial leaders have let this go on unabated for decades — generation after generation.
His question says a lot about the young people of all races who marched together nationwide. Bruce’s query must be a call to action.
One thing’s for sure (and my son agrees), lashing out by rioting, violence and burning down our business communities, already hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, cannot possibly be a legitimate response or solution. It wasn’t in the ’60s and ’70s. The nationwide riots back then left us only with scorched earth.
I see a new opportunity here for us all to come together to proactively problem-solve. This would involve the many folks in law enforcement, some of whom joined marchers in solidarity across the country, and the many white people who now understand what is going on. We need a “we’re all in this together” plan.
I had hoped Sunday night that the city would escape the havoc that many other cities have experienced. I recalled how proud I was when Bostonians peacefully marched to the Common in 2017 to protest the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
So I was particularly disappointed to hear one young woman interviewed in Sunday’s march proclaim that there was “a need to tear down, to burn down in order to refresh and rebuild.” You have got to be kidding me.
Most of Boston’s marchers Sunday reveled in the powerful statement of peaceful protest, despite the ensuing spate of violence. You are still the heroes of this march, as is Mayor Marty Walsh, Police Commissioner William Gross and the members of the clergy who walked the streets with the demonstrators.
We have worked too hard to put more blacks in office and on our police forces. We need to re-engage and build on the progress we have made to work for real and lasting change.
There are those who used President Trump’s foul and incendiary words like “when the looting starts the shooting starts” and similar statements as an excuse to engage in mayhem. I know he angered people, but what else is new? Trump has always been intentionally inappropriate when it comes to our community. His “MAGA loves the Black people” is as sad as it is grating.
Monday the brother of George Floyd and his minister went on air to once again ask the protesters for peace in his name. Floyd’s late mother was the last person Floyd cried out to before he died — and his children also asked for peace. People claim they are listening and respecting his memory. I’m not too sure about that. The marchers who walked in peace did. Thank you. No family would ever want the legacy of their loved one’s hideous death to be trashed by looting and burning down communities.
Just as some police break their oath to protect and serve all, there will always be some people in the crowd who have ulterior motives. Thank God they are in the minority. Boston walked strong for peace.
But that’s only a first step.
Now we need to work to change conditions that have led to too many deaths for black and brown people.
Enough has long been enough.
Joyce Ferriabough Bolling is a media and political strategist and communications specialist.
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June 02, 2020 at 04:20PM
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Honor George Floyd peacefully & work for change - Boston Herald
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