NBA’s Malcolm Brogdon: When protests fade, here’s what we must focus on as Americans
Black people in America are fighting two viruses.
On one hand, the global pandemic brought on by COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting black communities. The other virus – racism and its impact on black communities in America – is also alive and well.
Because of my own wealth privilege and status as an NBA player, some might think I am immune from the latter. But last week, as the protest scenes grew violent and chaotic, I looked within and asked what I could do.
Like many black men, I have been traumatized by repeatedly viewing the slow death of a brother at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sworn to protect and serve. Any decent person who watches this scene is filled with pain and anguish, horrified as George Floyd slowly asphyxiates, his neck under the knee of another human being while onlookers beg for his life.
I am angry that I had to watch, once again, an unarmed black man deliberately killed by police. I am pained, outraged and scared for our country, for my friends and for my family.
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A restless energy has consumed me for the past week, and initially I couldn’t figure out how to relieve it. I’ve witnessed protests over the past decade for Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown and all the other people suffering from excessive violence, but this one felt different.
