On the Death of George Floyd and Unanswered Questions About Black Lives: Letter to the President
Dear Donald Trump,
It is 3am (GMT) in the early hours of Saturday 30th May, as I follow developments related to the nationwide protests currently taking place as a result of the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of his police officers.
Mr. President, certainly the scenes emerging from downtown Atlanta are quite concerning as similar scenes unfold in major cities across the United States of America. Truly, the land of the free and home of the brave has not lived up to its bill of rights and freedoms enshrined in the hallowed scrolls of the Declaration of Independence.
As I watch protesters attack CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I see the anger and frustration of the citizens of your great country across the political and racial divide, all crying out for the justice promised in their nation’s philosophical checkbook.
Poor me! What is happening in America right now would be strange only to those unaware of the prophecies of the late Martin Luther King Jr. who (57 years ago) boldly stated the inconvenient truth as follows:
“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which all Americans would be heirs. This promissory note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well white men (My Lord), they would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Today it is obvious that the United States has breached this promissory note as it pertains to its colored citizens. (My Lord) Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given Black people a bad check, a check that has come back marked insufficient funds.”
The Donald, it is your misfortune that today (more than ever), the African race, is ready and eager to demand justice and equality. It falls within the period of his reign that the sons and daughters of the multitude solemnly gathered at the National Monument on that fateful day in 1963, when MLK delivered that historic speech, be ready and bold to demand that your federal reserves of justice honor that I will pay and no force on earth can stop this movement.
You’ve been eccentric, provocative, and mischievously self-centered, but this is not the time to attempt any egotistical pranks. You must rise to the occasion and answer the call for justice in the George Floyd matter. His country yearns for leadership and sadly has not risen to the occasion amid his administration’s chaotic approach to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, here comes another tragedy at your doorstep searching for the right mix of legal and sociological answers that would heal and unite the United States of America. Will you answer this proverbial 3 AM phone call that former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned all presidential hopefuls about?
Whatever your answer to the above query, you had better do some genuine soul-searching and extensive consultation before reaching out to your Twitter account.
As I bid you farewell, Mr. President, I refer you to a warning posted in your office more than half a century ago; that email was addressed to his office by none other than an enlightened soul like the reverend pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, “the price America must pay for the continued oppression of blacks and other minority groups is the price of its own destruction (Yes it is) For the hour is late. And the clock of destiny is ticking. We must act now before it is too late.”
Receive the assurances of my highest consideration and esteem.