For George Floyd

The trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin

As the case surrounding George Floyd's killing is now going to through the courts, I wanted to take some time and just reshare a poem dedicated to him. I'm sure many of us have seen the video and were moved by it, as this former police officer is in the news I wanted to put some of the attention back on George Floyd and why it's important.

When we look at that video, we can see a man who is losing his life for nothing. They are debating the reasons why it happened in court but at this moment I want to explore his reality and the reality of so many others who live their daily lives feeling a need or desire to escape.

I remember having a conversation with a Korean friend of mine she asked “why are black people so creative?“ at the time I couldn't think of an appropriate answer. When I wrote that poem however, I had that feeling of wanting to create a safe place away from my reality, the reality where I could see myself being pinned under the knee of a police officer. It is true that this has never happened to me, but I do not believe that me seeing myself in that situation in anyway belittles what happened.

I remember when Stephen Lawrence died, my community came together prayed and held vigils as we could all see ourselves in that situation. I remember sitting with my uncles who told stories of growing up having to live with the constant threat off racial violence. This happens every time someone who looks like us dies and what we want is a world where we do not have to consider if this happened because of his skin colour.

Right now, this is just a fantasy. George Floyd, like so many others, lived in reality.