Listen. A deafening cry for colorblind justice can be heard from every continent. In the aftermath of the tragic murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, our generation has arisen from dark shadows of complacency to a bright mountaintop of hope. The impact of one man’s death on the world confirms what John Donne told us more than 400 years ago — that “no man is an island entire of itself.” That every man’s death diminishes the whole of humanity. We are all inextricably linked to the same fate.
In spite of this unprecedented movement, we continue to grapple with the anxiety of these uncertain times. We continue to see a judicial system that is far from colorblind. A system in which men and women armed to protect us murder our dear young black men and women with ever-increasing frequency and blatancy. Beyond this, we continue to feel the pandemic impinging upon our communities and personal ways of life. Some rightfully suggest that we live in a day when fear is most justified.
Nevertheless, I do not believe this is the day to fear most. The day to fear most is when our collective cries for colorblind justice and a better world slowly fade from memory. A day when bruised roots of racism and prejudice silently find their way back to good soil and choke seeds of liberty — the seeds our world plants with each new protest.
Our generation never personally experienced the familiar cries of justice following the tragic deaths of Dr. King, President John F. Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. Unfortunately, with time, our society grew complacent with the hidden roots of racism. Instead of uprooting racism, we subconsciously clung to cynical and mundane ways of life — the pursuit of money, accolades and brief escapes from the cares of this world. King David put it into poetic terms in Psalm 39 — men walked about like shadows, asleep to that which mattered most, and clung to lifestyles rooted in vanity. Many of us choose to look the other way when we saw blatant instances of injustice against unarmed black men and women. Too many of us shrugged and cynically said, at least it is still better today than it was in the ’60s. That we have come a long way since the estranged times of Emmett Till. Our hearts grew cold and stony.
Like Rip Van Winkle, we fell asleep for many years — asleep at the wheel of justice. We slept soundly, convinced that we were turning the wheel. In fact, no one turned it. We slept through the alarms of burgeoning racism for decades. Every alarm growing louder and louder — Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Philando Castille and Breonna Taylor, among many others.
In fact, we were quick to hear the alarm of the pandemic. We heard that alarm because we understood that alarm affected us all.
We were quick to hear the alarms of a recession that brought widespread unemployment. We heard that alarm because we understood that alarm affected us all.
We were quick to hear the alarms of plague, murder hornets and an upcoming presidential election. We heard those alarms because we understood those alarms affected us all.
Nevertheless, our ears and our hearts fell deaf to the elephant cries of racial injustice. Once again, we failed to understand history’s greatest lesson: that the greatest threats to our humanity are not physical but spiritual. That human indifference has caused far more deaths than any pandemic known to man. You see, we can see injustice and murder manifested through people like George Floyd. But we can never see the racism and hatred in a man’s heart that caused it.
As the prophet Isaiah said about the last generations, “hearing they do not hear, and seeing they do not see.”
On May 25, 2020, the ears of our hearts grew louder than the ears of our flesh. We woke up from our deep sleep of complacency and cynicism and remembered history’s great lesson — that what affects one affects all of us.
I am pleased to say that many of us are wide awake. From Europe to the Middle East, our world has awakened to the cry of injustice. To stand united and firm in the face of racial injustice. To stand together in the face of prejudice. To lead this generation to the promise land of which Dr. King spoke of 70 years ago. To affirm the promises of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”
It starts right here. In our hearts. In our generation. Let us march on to proclaim the liberties of our nation. Let us march on to affirm justice. Let us march on to uproot racism and to plant seeds of liberty.
A native of Pacifica, Jonathan Madison worked as professional policy staff for the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, from 2011-2013. Jonathan is an attorney and can be reached via email at jonathanemadison@gmail.com.
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