Police killing should signal end of racism
A woman holds a Black Lives Matter flag during the funeral service of Daunte Wright outside the Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, April 22, 2021.
What you need to know:
- In almost all continents, Africa included, racial disharmony is still very much alive.
- It happens in most neighbourhoods, in the workplaces, in social places and even in the commuter transport systems.
Watching that famous clip of Derek Chauvin squeezing George Floyd’s neck, one comes to hate racism or racial discrimination with a passion and pain.
Chauvin and his fellow police officers are a real front of what racial hatred is all about. It is uncaring and hate-filled. It is a moment that should never be repeated or even screened again. Its repercussion the world over is one that has left memories of pain and a reminder of the schism between whites and blacks.
We all hope Chauvin will search his soul as he serves his deserved sentence. His action that unfortunate day has opened a debate that will linger for a long time because in almost all continents, Africa included, racial disharmony is still very much alive. It happens in most neighbourhoods, in the workplaces, in social places and even in the commuter transport systems.
Chauvin took me back to Apartheid South Africa days. American states like Minneapolis, where Floyd lived, have come out as enclaves of quiet but bubbling racial hatred. They are a definition of racial comfort or discomfort whichever way you look at it.
Untimely death
Africans, both in the Western world and even Africa, have tasted racism in one way or another and it is time this came to an end. I hope the case of Floyd and others before him will help to heal this rift.
Americans in their majority have truly tried to overcome racism and it is only a few who should be condemned. The rest of the world saw real victory in the struggle for equality in the US when Barack Obama was elected President twice. That should set a precedent for what Dr Martin Lurther King, Jnr. called his great dream.
The embers of racism still burn in the world and it should be the duty of all to reject it. This journey, which started a long time ago with sacrifices from great leaders like Nelson Mandela and MLK has been given a boost by the untimely death of George Floyd. Let the whole world say, “Never Again!” to racism.
Mr Kigo, is an environment officer. [email protected]
