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December 2020 Issue featuring Melissa L. Williams
Reassuring A Generation
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Derrick Jakolby Washington
Words By Rashod Davenport
May 25th, 2020 was the day that George Floyd was killed by police, on video, in front of the world. The police officers were called to the scene over a complaint of a potential counterfeit $20 bill being used by Floyd. There was a conversation, He was cuffed, he was placed in the back of a car, the situation was under control. Floyd complained about being claustrophobic and begged the officers to let him sit outside of the car. They complied. He was taken out of the car, laid on the pavement, and that’s when we witnessed a video of Officer Derek Chauvin kneel with his knee on the back of the neck of Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. By the end of the video, Mr. Floyd was lifeless. For many viewing the traumatic ordeal, it was considered a lynching in broad daylight in front of an audience of citizens pleading to the officer to end the attack.
Americans were shocked. How could this happen? How could someone be so cruel? The Black Community had a different stance. The cry was more of “Now you watch this on video, there’s no way you can claim this cop feared for his life. There’s no way you can say this man was resisting arrest. When will you stop allowing this to happen to us with no consequence? What are we supposed to do? How do we protect our children? What do we say to them?” Those were the emotions that went through the mind of Derrick Jakolby Washington.
The day after George Floyd’s death, Derrick sat and begin to write out his thoughts and feelings. He began thinking of his 6-month-old nephew and how life could look for him over the next 15-20 years as he matures into adulthood. His thoughts became a letter to his nephew in poem form. After reading it to his sister and later to a few friends, he was convinced to turn the writing into a book.
