Post Bulletin: Honoring George Floyd - “More than1000 join Rochester virtual vigil”
The event was a partnership between a number of organizations, including the Rochester NAACP, the Rochester Diversity Council and Rochester for Justice.
“For far too long, we’ve seen this type of cowardice, indifference, racism, bias, hate that have resulted in loss of life,” said Wale Elegbede, vice president of NAACP Rochester. “We saw this in New York and before our very own eyes where Eric Garner was choked to death. We saw it this week when George Floyd, an unarmed person, was restrained and choked to death by the knee of a police officer as he gasped for air and said, 'I can’t breathe.' ”
Elegbede asked those watching to think about their children, or parents or brothers and sisters, and all the hopes and dreams they had for them.
“Now visualize the face of George Floyd in your loved one,” Elegbede said. “How would you feel? His life mattered.”
In addition to speakers, spoken-word poetry was performed, a prayer was offered, and blues vocalist Annie Mack sang. The names of people who lost their lives at the hands of police were read, and candles were lit.
Sharing stories of his life growing up as a person of color, Kamau Wilkins, founder of Rochester for Justice, said the people who say they understand the protests but not how they could get violent, are lucky.
“You are a really lucky person to never feel the frustration, the pain of it repeatedly happening,” he said.
Wilkins said for the cries of “do something,” the “ 'do something' is actually relatively simple.”
The action, he said, is to change the language in the state’s use-of-force statute.
“The use of deadly force, from my perspective, and from the UN, and I’m sure a great many of you, is that the use of deadly force should only be used in self-defense or the defense of others against harm or possibly death,” he said. “We need to demand that the language of the law be changed. We are not going to solve racism today. But we change the laws to make our police force behave in a way that is just and not cruel, as we’ve seen.”
W.C. Jordan Jr,. president of the NAACP Minnesota/Dakotas Area State Conference, told those watching that the time to take action is now.
“We are truly running out of time. We cannot afford to lose another soul to a senseless death,” he said. “We must take action now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not when the pandemic is over. Not once the kids go back to school. Not when the snow begins to fly, and not when we see who gets elected in November. We have to take action now.”
Source: https://www.postbulletin.com/news/6514866-More-than-1000-join-Rochester-virtual-vigil
