Former President Barack Obama said Friday the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody this week after a white officer pinned him to the ground under his knee, "shouldn't be 'normal' in 2020 America."
Floyd's death has sparked demonstrations against police brutality and racial discrimination in cities across the United States. Some protests turned violent, including some in Minneapolis Thursday evening, where some looted buildings and a police precinct was set on fire.
Obama, the nation's first black president, shared parts of conversations he had with friends over the past several days about Floyd's killing.
A middle-aged African American businessman told Obama he cried when he saw the footage of the death, with the "knee on the neck" a metaphor for a system holding black people down.
The anguish over Floyd's death, Obama wrote, was "shared by me and millions of others."
More: Former President Barack Obama delivers virtual message to 2020 graduates
More: US coronavirus response a 'chaotic disaster,' Obama tells former staffers in call
And although many Americans wished the world could return to "normal" amid the coronavirus pandemic and an economic crisis, Obama wrote that for many Americans, "being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly 'normal' — whether it's dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system."
"If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its ideals, we can and must do better," Obama wrote.
Ensuring justice for Floyd, Obama wrote, will fall mostly on the investigations by Minnesota officials, but he implored every American — including those in law enforcement — to work towards a "'new normal' in which the legacy of bigotry and unfair treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts."
More: 'Graduate Together': Barack Obama tells class of 2020, 'This is your generation's world to shape'
On Friday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz promised "swift" justice for the police involved in Floyd's killing and told reporters the justice would be take in a "timely manner, that it will be fair."
Obama also weighed in on incidents of police brutality and killings of black men when he was president.
"You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," he said after the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012.
"The fact is, in too many parts of this country, a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color. Some of this is the result of the legacy of racial discrimination in this country," he said in 2014 after a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown.
And after the shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in 2016, he said, "These are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system."
U.S. - Latest - Google News
May 30, 2020 at 03:03AM
https://ift.tt/3dsLZFq
Obama says George Floyd's death shouldn't be 'normal' - USA TODAY
U.S. - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2ShjtvN
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Obama says George Floyd's death shouldn't be 'normal' - USA TODAY"
Post a Comment