Former President Barack Obama finally broke his silence over the death of George Floyd. The Democratic Party member issued a compelling statement to address the racism in the country and show the letters he received from the African Americans.
George Floyd died in Minneapolis after Officer Derek Chauvin pinned his knee to his neck. After a lot of African Americans saw how one of their own struggled and pleaded for his life for almost nine minutes before he died in custody, the began a nationwide protest.
In a lengthy statement he posted on Twitter, Barack Obama reminded everyone that they have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently due to someone's race is "tragically, painfully, maddeningly normal." It happens with the healthcare system, the criminal justice system, while jogging down the street, or by even just watching the birds in the park.
He was referring to Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was only jogging but killed by two white vigilantes in Georgia. Also, Christian Cooper, a highly-educated black man, who was only bird watching in Central Park when a white woman threatened to call the police.
Barack Obama adds that it is now on the hands of Minnesota officials to make sure that George Floyd's death will be thoroughly investigated, and justice will be ultimately done. But, it will also fall on people, regardless of the race or state, even the law enforcement that does their job, to work together to create a "new normal" where prejudice and unequal treatment no longer affects everyone's hearts and even the institutions.
My statement on the death of George Floyd: pic.twitter.com/Hg1k9JHT6R — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 29, 2020
According to Fox6Now, upon the death of George Floyd, protesters burned down a Minneapolis police station. The department was forced to leave the place after three days of consecutive violent protests spread across the city. There are also demonstrations happening across the U.S.
In response, President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he would send the National Guard to control the protests. However, although he assured that they would assume control, he warned that the shooting starts when the looting begins. From here, he was flagged for violating the social media platform's rules.
On its communications account, Twitter explained that it had taken action to prevent others from being inspired to do more violence. But, it kept the POTUS's tweet because it still saw the importance of letting the public see his tweet due to its relevance to the issue. Barack Obama's tweet now has more than 39,000 comments, 468,000 shares, and 1.8 million likes.
