Remembering George Floyd

Hello friends,

I have no wise words today. It’s all been said. All I can offer is an updated version of the poem I wrote on the one year anniversary.

IT’S BEEN THREE YEARS

It’s been three years

Since George Floyd’s murder shook the world

Nine minutes and 29 seconds of videoed trauma

Making Black Lives Matter, but only for a moment

Three long years

It’s been three years

Of thousands more Black deaths

Of Karens and Amys and others

Putting Black lives in danger

Three long years

It’s been three years

Since the black squares covered social media

Promising much but delivering little

Then quietly returning to business as usual

Three long years

It’s been three years

Since diversity in companies hit the spotlight

Revealing just how white the world is

Do you suddenly believe the Black people who said it before?

Three long years

It’s been three years

Since more Black people spoke out

About how white supremacy had ruined their lives

Yet Black people were also silenced and suppressed

Three long years

It’s been three years

Of education and re-education

Relearning and unlearning

Unlocking the true keys to our Black History (which is history)

Three long years

It’s been three years

Since more of us joined the fray

Supporting those who’d been doing the work for decades

Learning the impossibility of educating the wilfully ignorant

Three long years

It’s been three years

Of testing the commitment of would-be allies

Of seeing how far they would unpack

The white supremacy within them

Three long years

It’s been three years

Of realizing how long the fight will be

Who will stay the course

And who will be suddenly silent

Three long years

It’s been three years

Of realizing that nations built on our Black backs

Won’t willingly give us our due

Not equity, not reparations, nothing

Three long years

Whew, chile! Three long, long years!

For me, the pace of change remains much too slow, but since the alternative is to give up, I keep going. What about you?

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2021, 2023. All Rights Reserved.

Cover photo courtesy of Canva.

I am an anti-racism educator and activist, Co-Founder of Mission Equality the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.