Vangie WilliamsCompte certifié

I will speak the truth. It seems many think that every protest is a violent riot, when actually most of the demonstrations across the US are peaceful. Folks need to take time to understand why people are angry. I’m angry. We are also trying to avoid black kids getting killed.

We’re angry not just because of this one murder by a Minneapolis police officer, but because of the ongoing racist violence against black people conducted by people with authority. Why don't folks understand? Because it's been made common place wrapped in a cloak.

Floyd’s final words echo the last words of Eric Garner, whose 2014 death at the hands of New York policemen catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement. Floyd’s death came days after three men were arrested for killing a young black man, Ahmaud Arbery, whom they saw out running.

In Louisville, crowds are demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, an unarmed black woman who was shot by police in her own apartment in March. I could continue writing about the wrongs committed but they are STILL only the ones not hidden by cloaks of misconduct and false truths.

These are demonstrations sparked by atrocities of police violence and systemic racism against the Black Community, but also in a context of widespread devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately borne by people of color, especially the poor and disadvantaged.

No wonder protesters are pouring into the streets, then met by far harsher police response than anything faced by pro-Trump gun-toting anti-lockdown activists.

Now Trump is fueling the fire threatening military violence against those he calls "THUGS," and saying, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." On Thursday, he tweeted a video of a supporter saying, "The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat."

A president should not be promoting violence in any situation but LEAD a world wide message of acceptance and honesty. A message of change with the willingness to listen.