This appeared in this morning's New York Times: Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden "opened his hastily arranged address by noting that he had spoken with the Floyd family, the sort of consoler-in-chief outreach he has become known for after his own life of loss, and concluded with another note of reassurance to the family along with a final challenge to white America. 'I love you all, and folks, we’ve got to stand up,' he said. 'We’ve got to move. We’ve [meaning white Americans] got to change.' Mr. Biden also evoked past leaders, some explicitly, like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others less directly. Citing the country’s founding promise, he echoed John F. Kennedy’s declaration that equality is 'as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.' By reciting the names of the black victims and repeating what has become a watchword of the racial justice movement, 'I can’t breathe,' Mr. Biden also summoned Lyndon B. Johnson, who borrowed the lyrics of the civil rights protest song to vow 'we shall overcome.'"
It's time for white Americans to awaken to the daily indignities and injustices endured daily by African Americans.
No comments:
Post a Comment