Michigan Chronicle Digital Edition 6.3.2020

Page 1

Inspirational App iShallBe Seeks to Spread Social Media Positivity City.Life.Style. B1

Michigan Chronicle

Vol. 83 – No.39 | June 3-9, 2020

We Accept This Challenge By Gary Torgow Executive Chairman of TCF Financial Corp.

Powered by Real Times Media | michiganchronicle.com

We Are Done Dying:

Protests Erupt Over the Murder of George Floyd and Others

When corporate and business leaders gather in their c-suites these days, we remind ourselves of an adage as old as business: “A company is only as healthy as the community it serves.” This ethic has never been truer than it is today, when the African American community has been inflicted with what my friend the Reverend Wendell Anthony calls “a pandemic within a pandemic.” The first assault came in a silent storm – the coronavirus that disproportionately killed African Americans Gary Torgow and exposed the racial disparity in U.S. health care. The second attack came with an achingly familiar cry for help – “I can’t breathe!” – as a white policeman plunged his knee into George Floyd’s neck while bystanders videotaped the agonizing final nine minutes of his life. We condemn Mr. Floyd’s vile and violent murder and share the grief, fear, and anger of our community and team members at TCF Bank. We demand the prosectution of every police officer complicit in this racist slaying. While we commend the vast majority of police who bring justice to the job without undue violence, there are still some in law enforcement who terrorize communities of color with impunity. Many of us do not experience the fear and humiliation of getting stopped by law enforcement simply because of the color of our skin. We do not experience the invisible hand of bias and different treatment when we go shopping or wait to be seated at a restaurant. But we hear you. Our hearts go out to the men and women of our community who have endured the pain and suffering of bigotry. As a company, and as citizens of our community, we unite together in rejecting all forms of bias, racism, and violence in our workplace and in our communities. We will meet this challenge with more than words. We will accelerate our unconscious bias training throughout our company to ensure we all have the tools to identify and respond to injustice. TCF Bank is blessed with outstanding African American teammates up and down our ranks. We will provide spaces to talk openly about racial equality and give a voice to team members who feel marginalized. In the cities and towns where we serve, especially in our beloved hometown of Detroit, our bank will continue to champion causes supporting social justice in partnership with community and ecumenical leaders. We will double down on our personal and purpose-

By Patreice A. Massey

O

n May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African American man, was killed in Powderhorn, a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, Minn., during an arrest after allegedly attempting to spend a counterfeit bill at a deli. The store employee who called the police stated that he wasn’t sure Floyd knew it was counterfeit. While Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on a city street during the arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, this ac-

cording to the criminal complaint against Chauvin. For 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time Floyd was already dead. Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas K. Lane also participated in Floyd’s arrest, with Kueng holding Floyd’s back, Lane holding his legs, and Thao looking on as he stood nearby. In the wake of the incident several videos have surfaced from multiple angles that not only show Floyd was not aggressive but also that he begged for his life. Several cell phone videos show Floyd pleading with officers saying: “ Please, please, please, I can’t breathe” and “Please man, don’t kill me”. The videos are heartbreaking, maddening and hard to watch as the 46-year-old father

PHOTO: Ashley Stevenson of two made every attempt to save his own life and ultimately calling for his mother as it became clear that the end was near: “Momma! I’m through,” all while Chauvin rested his entire body weight on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed families, communities and the world in a state of uncertainty with many facing severe respiratory complications as a result of the virus. But if you’re black your life and the life of your family has always been in a state of uncertainty. Imagine not being able to go for a jog (Ahmaud Arbery), sleep in your own bed (Breonna Taylor), leave

See DONE

DYING page A2

See CHALLENGE page A2

WHAT’S INSIDE

George Floyd Killing Sparks National Outrage And International Disgrace By Roz Edwards

What COVID-19 Won’t Do To your Big Day

City.Life.Style. B4

$1.00

The nation experienced a surreal number of protests and demonstrations – reminiscent of civil unrest of the 60s over the last weekend of May. From Detroit to Atlanta, and from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., protestors took to the streets in record numbers to express their discontent over the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis who was the most recent – and most visible – victim of lethal force from a police officer. Minneapolis police officer Derrick Chauvin took a knee to Floyd’s neck and casually rocked back in forth until Floyd was dead. That’s where it started. The latest wave of protests – some peaceful and some violent – sparked by the killing of the Minneapolis man, in which millions of Americans witnessed the

horrific recorded images of Floyd begging for his life as a police officer casually snuffed out Floyd’s life, while three other officers looked on. For citizens who naively thought there was a moratorium on police killing blacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, bigotry, narrow-mindedness and racism continue to flourish throughout the ranks of police departments around the nation. Detroit attorney Leonard Mungo, an expert in the field of law enforcement community and race relations, explained that the present system of policing in cities around the nation would inevitably lead to the ignition of a powder keg of frustration and disenfranchisement. That would resonate around the country and result in the arrests of thousands of

See NATIONAL

OUTRAGE page A2

PHOTO: Ashley Stevenson


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Michigan Chronicle Digital Edition 6.3.2020 by Real Times Media - Issuu