George Floyd’s Murder: Detoxing Our Notions and Fears One Year Later

(Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)

While most anniversaries are marked for celebration, today’s anniversary is one filled with reflection. One year ago, on May 25, 2020, the world witnessed the devastating murder of George Floyd. As I reflect on George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent guilty verdict of former police officer Derek Chauvin, I’m struck by how little has changed since then.

Sadly, per the Washington Post, 208 African American and 148 Hispanic men and women have been killed in police shootings after George Floyd was murdered. I could take this opportunity to elucidate the history of racism, white privilege, over-policing in communities of color and the unfairness of it all. It’s all been said and is available for anyone who wishes to learn the truth.

This, however, will not do anything to move us towards respecting the sanctity of life and eliminating the proclivity of law enforcement to shoot first when they see black or brown skin. What I would like to do here today is elucidate what should be obvious by looking at things through a different lens, a lens of species vs race and the animal kingdom.

The fact of the matter is that there is only one race: the human race. Race, as most of us know and experience it, is a man-made construct that, by definition, divides us on the basis of physical characteristics. The consequence of that divisiveness is at the root of so many of the issues of the world.

This man-made construct creates these divisions that tear apart the fabric of humanity, making us weaker, less effective and is responsible for a lot of unhappiness many experience. There is so much evidence that demonstrates just how much better life might be if we could become one cohesive unit. So much more energy for real problems that plague humanity would be available and I believe there wouldn’t be anything we couldn’t accomplish.

Science has shown that there really aren’t any measurable differences that merit the creation of race and racism. And the amazing thing is that the main attribute that is used to categorize race is the epidermis, the part of the skin that is visible to the naked eye. The epidermis ranges from .05 mm to 1.5 mm at its thickest (on the palms and soles of the feet). That is .002 inches to .06 inches. To put this in perspective, a regular sheet of copy paper is .05 mm thick. 

Now, I’d like you to look through another lens, the lens of our beloved feline and canine friends. Cats are the species felis catus and dogs are the species canis lupis familiaris. Our animal friends may not like each other because of temperament or upbringing, but have you ever seen them snub another of their species because of the color of the other animal’s fur or their breed? I haven’t. I’ve seen liters with kittens/puppies born solid colored or multicolored and yet they all get along…because they are “brothers and sisters.” I’ve even seen cats and dogs get along, contrary to expectation.

If the four-legged species can get this right, what will it take for our two-legged species to evolve, to get it right?

The first thing, I believe, is to see past color. I’m not talking about the color-blind theory. Notice I didn’t say to not see color. I’m talking about seeing past what makes us different, the 8 to 10 pounds of epidermis and considering what makes us alike. Our bodies all function the same, (albeit some more efficiently than others) – every stomach digests, every tongue tastes, and every heart pumps. 

The easiest way to see past someone’s appearance is to get to know that person. One of the best treatments for the polarization we’re experiencing in our nation is for each of us to actually seek to get to know someone that doesn’t “look” like us. In doing so, we will undoubtedly find something in common much weightier than the different skin you both are in. 

On this anniversary of one of the most heinous acts of cruelty borne out of a system based on prejudice and bias, while the world wrings its hands about what to do to fix policing, each and every one of us can work to detox our communities of the lack of common understanding and the fear that feeds that system. Take the time to get to know the Black woman in your yoga class, the brown parent in your child’s school, or the white man walking his dog. To do so, you may need to look past any preconceived notions you may have about this new person. You may need to question and put aside the fabricated notions of race in which each of us has been well indoctrinated.

I am sick to my soul of the divisiveness that kills. And not just the kind perpetrated by racist police systems. These systems grow from all of us who allow the made-up system of race to create one of the deadliest emotions – fear. 

Systems thrive on fear. Racist policing is but one, albeit deadly one. Redlining, racist and sexist algorithms are the next frontier that we in tech must admit we are guilty of embedding in our code, and all of us in society must rise up and resist.

What we need is a kinder world where the “isms” are eradicated – racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, and all the other phobias that make the world a hard place to just be. Where no more George Floyds or Ahmaud Arberys or Breonna Taylors have their lives at stake simply because of the color of their epidermis.

So, you may be asking, what do we do now? I’ll start with a challenge. I challenge every one of you, on this somber anniversary, to stop and rethink your notion of race. Think about just one opportunity every day this week where you can see that person who doesn’t look like you as a human being with needs, desires, feelings, just like you have. And after this week, try it for another week, and then another. They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. This habit is one for our times.

I also challenge every CEO of every company that draws success from a diverse population, especially those who pledged to contribute in some way to support Black lives, to follow through and actually do what you pledged. And to those of you who didn’t pledge, ask yourselves why not.

What we all need is a journey. We need to journey away from this notion of divisiveness we have been so trained to see as normal.

I am not so na?ve enough to think that one relationship is enough, but it can be a start. If you take the time to establish relationships with other members of your species, your personal world will be richer, and our world might just become a lot safer for everyone.