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    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Featured

    “Should The Late George Floyd Be A Black American Hero?”

    Article submittedBy Article submittedJuly 23, 2021No Comments3 Mins Read
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    Flameless candles are illuminated after being placed at the memorial for George Floyd outside Cup Foods to celebrate what would have been Floyd's 47th birthday on Oct. 14 in Minneapolis.
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    By B. Robinson

    Should the late George Floyd be a Black
    American hero? Do you want future
    generations to glance back over their
    shoulders and view Mr. Floyd as a leading
    symbol in the fight for Black American
    freedom, justice, and equality?

    Mr. Floyd lost his life under unappealing and
    unpleasant circumstances. He was murdered
    with his hands cuffed behind his back and he
    was face down on the pavement because of
    an alleged and unresolved use of a counterfeit
    $20 bill to purchase cigarettes.1 How should
    Mr. Floyd be compared with the innumerable
    Black American personalities who have lost
    their lives in the fight for justice over the past
    400-plus years?

    Before proceeding, it is important to note—
    as have many involved in Mr. Floyd’s case—
    that the penalty for passing a counterfeit $20
    bill is not death. Importantly, the State of
    Minnesota should resolve the issue and
    clarify the facts concerning Mr. Floyd’s
    alleged use of counterfeit money.
    Unfortunately, the lack of resolution of this
    matter places a dark cloud over the entire
    affair.

    Let us also emphasize that the videotape of
    Mr. Floyd’s murder fastened a very bright
    spotlight on police brutality, police excessive
    use of force, and police operations generally.
    That spotlight is affecting police operations
    all around the world, and it should result in
    more humane police behavior. But there are
    no guarantees until improved police
    governance laws are enacted and enforced.

    Precipitating all of these outcomes, alone,
    should make Mr. Floyd an excellent Black
    American hero candidate. However, there are
    at least three reasons why Mr. Floyd’s
    ascension to herohood should be
    reconsidered.

    First, if Mr. Floyd, in fact, knowingly passed
    counterfeit money as alleged, then it
    represents a criminal act.2 As a people intent
    on being righteous, Black Americans should
    not tolerate criminal behavior.

    Second, if Mr. Floyd believed or knew that
    he had not committed a crime, then why did
    he acquiesce so willingly to the police and go
    down without a fight. His failure to fight in
    righteous indignation may have cost him his
    life, but he died anyway.

    Third, Mr. Floyd’s final cry to his mother for
    help places him in the pantheon of weaklings
    who do not fight in moments of distress, but
    who digress to babyhood. This weakness, as
    Dr. Claud Anderson so aptly states, is a prime
    reason why Black Americans have been used
    and abused—especially economically—
    throughout our sojourn in North America.
    3 It is peculiar that Mr. Floyd, who was big and
    football-strong, was putty in the hands of
    Minneapolis police.

    In the current fight over Critical Race Theory,
    we should be careful not only about how we
    characterize the history of Blacks in America,
    but we should also be very careful about who
    we hold up to the world as heroes. We should
    consider continuing to push forward as
    heroes the lives and legacies of personalities
    such as Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, Nat
    Turner, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther
    King, Jr. Much less so Mr. George Floyd.
    B. Robinson
    07/19/2021

    “Should The Late George Floyd Be A Black American Hero?”
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    Article submitted

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