Pre-Juneteenth reckoning for MPD kneeler
People take part in a BLM protest. REUTERS / Brendan Mcdermid
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
• You can still vote for just one candidate and leave the
other columns blank
• You can only choose one candidate for each column
• You cannot rank the same candidate more than once
Caribbean Life, APR. 30-MAY 6, 2021 11
By Vinette K. Pryce
The dark days of defiant protesters
marching through city
streets in 2020 despite social
quarantine impositions last
Memorial Day are no longer the
relentless screaming reminder
to the fact “Black Lives Matter.”
In 2021, the visuals and noise
may be less horrific and deafening.
The noises began just before
the holiday on May 25 when
17-year-old Darnella Frazier
recorded a police officer from
the Minneapolis Police Department
kneeling on the neck of
a Black man, now known to be
George Floyd.
Out and about with a relative,
Frazier masked her nose
and mouth to protect herself
and others from the scourge of
the novel coronavirus but could
not shield her eyes from seeing
the persecution of a stranger.
The teenager said she noticed
an unusual incident and immediately
aimed her phone’s camera
on Derek Chauvin, the uniformed
policeman who placed
his knee on Floyd’s neck.
According to her account, the
officer seemed cavalier about his
action, he kept his hand in one
pocket, stared into the camera
lens, ignored the pleadings for
mercy and for nine minutes and
29 seconds stayed on the neck
until life left the subdued Floyd.
Her video went viral, prompting
thousands of Americans to
take to the streets in protest.
Like a human tsunami, demonstrators
crossed state borders
in solidarity, influencing global
outcry on continents.
Frazier’s spontaneous action
captured world view.
Apparently her insightful
action recorded an arrest gone
horribly wrong.
The fact many cities were in
lockdown mode due to the pandemic,
quarantined Americans
were able to witness the kind of
police brutality Black Americans
regularly complained about.
The awakening was a virtual
enlightenment.
That so many Americans had
never really looked closely at
the reality, this forced period of
confinement enabled some to
believe that seeing is believing.
More than a few believed what
they saw.
Young whites seemed most
incensed. They marched and
cycled relentlessly. All because
a teenager proved herself a crusader
for justice.
During the trial Frazier took
the witness stand to testify
against the wicked brute. Her
emotional testimony must have
tugged at the heart strings of
jurors.
Considering all she had done,
she expressed remorse at not
doing more to save Floyd’s life.
She said every night she apologized
for not doing more to
save the helpless stranger.
Frazier’s eyewitness testimony
recalled how she saw terror
and Floyd’s fear of dying.
One month short of the oneyear
anniversary of Floyd’s death,
history was made in Minneapolis.
The kneeler was convicted of
charges of second-degree unintentional
murder, third-degree
murder and second-degree
manslaughter. Never before had
a white cop faced such scrutiny
and retribution and more
importantly never ever had a
white cop in Minneapolis ever
been convicted of killing a Black
man.
“I just cried so hard,” Frazier
now 18-years old posted on
social media. While waiting for
the verdict she said “my heart
was beating so fast, I was so
anxious.”
“George Floyd, we did it!!” she
said. “Justice has been served.”
The April 20 decision by
the diverse jury was swift. The
anonymous group comprised
eight whites and self-described
individuals ascribed to being six
people of color.
The unprecedented verdict
was announced a little more
than nine hours following a
judge’s charge that they consider
the evidence before deciding if
the prosecution had met its burden
of proving the case beyond
a reasonable doubt and that the
kneeling was unjustified.
Without request or a single
query for rereading of testimony
or redefinition of the law, the
Minnesotans agreed that kneeling
on a man’s neck for such a
prolonged period is murder.
The verdict resonated with
joy, glee and relief.
Catch you on the inside!
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
1 2 3 4 5
NYC
RANKED
CHOICE
VOTING
Visit VOTE.NYC or call !!"#$%&'
early voting hours and learn more about Ranked-Choice Voting
You can rank
RANKED-CHOICE VOTING
RANK YOUR
CHOICES NYC
Now rank up to
For the upcoming Primary, voters will
use the new Ranked-Choice Voting for
PRIMARY ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, June 22, 2021, 6:00am-9:00pm
Early Voting – Saturday, June 12 - Sunday, June 20