[HOME ] [ABOUT] [PHOTOS] [VIDEO] [BLOG] [HOUSTON] [TEXAS] [U.S. NEWS] [WORLD NEWS] [SPORTS] [POP CULTURE] [CONTACT]
George W. Bush issues statement on George Floyd's death
by Joseph Earnest June 5, 2020
Newscast Media AUSTIN, Texas—On May 26, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man was suffocated by a White police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis, Minnesota after Floyd was taken into custody and handcuffed for attempting to purchase cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. The strangulation of Floyd with a knee by the police officer has since triggered protests around the country for the racism and injustice Blacks have to deal with on a regular basis.
George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush have spoken out against America's racism, and have issued the statement below:
Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America to examine our tragic failures – and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.
It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially
young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own
country. It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law
enforcement, march for a better future. This tragedy — in a long series
of similar tragedies — raises a long overdue question: How do we end
systemic racism in our society? The only way to see ourselves in a true
light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and
grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand
the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.
America’s greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very
different backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity.
The doctrine and habits of racial superiority, which once nearly split
our country, still threaten our Union. The answers to American problems
are found by living up to American ideals — to the fundamental truth
that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain
rights. We have often underestimated how radical that quest
really is, and how our cherished principles challenge systems of
intended or assumed injustice. The heroes of America — from Frederick
Douglass, to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King,
Jr. — are heroes of unity. Their calling has never been for the
fainthearted. They often revealed the nation’s disturbing bigotry and
exploitation — stains on our character sometimes difficult for the
American majority to examine. We can only see the reality of America's
need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and
disenfranchised.
That is exactly where we now stand. Many
doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see
the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate
response from American institutions. We know that lasting justice will
only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction
is not progress. But we also know that lasting peace in our communities
requires truly equal justice. The rule of law ultimately depends on the
fairness and legitimacy of the legal system. And achieving justice for
all is the duty of all.
This will require a consistent, courageous, and creative effort. We serve our neighbors best when we try to understand their experience. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we treat them as equals, in both protection and compassion. There is a better way — the way of empathy, and shared commitment, and bold action, and a peace rooted in justice. I am confident that together, Americans will choose the better way.
Add Comments >>
|
|
Join the Newscast Media social networks
for current events and multimedia content.
Copyright© Newscast Media. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Privacy Policy