The Queen of Soul sang it clearly. The “Respect” Aretha Franklin was craving — yes, demanding — in that classic is still in short supply for black Americans. More protesters have been arrested than police officers involved in the death of George Floyd, the black Minneapolis man who died after now-former officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on the handcuffed man’s neck for nearly nine minutes while three fellow officers stood by or assisted.
Would there have been protests across the country and the world if Chauvin and his fellow officers had been charged immediately? There is no way to know for sure. But it is clear that the anguished reaction has been about much more than the death of one man, and has been generations in the making.
In 1967, Aretha’s anthem blared from radios and record players, the soundtrack for African Americans frustrated with the disconnect between the lofty words of equality in the country’s founding documents and the reality. Sound familiar? If history doesn’t repeat itself, it certainly rhymes. And as citizens fill the streets, demanding justice in the face of police brutality, not enough has changed. Continue reading.