FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 4, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 45
vschneps@gmail.com
My heart broke as I
watched with sadness
over and over again the
murder of George Floyd.
And then, within hours,
I watched as chaos, riots and
destruction engulfed our city
and many others across the
country.
While some took to the streets
to protest peacefully, there were
others who turned to a mob
mentality in the wake of the
unconscionable murder by looting
and burning.
While every looter must be
punished to the full extent of the
law, the peaceful protests that
are being held serve as a call to
action.
Floyd’s police-related death in
Minneapolis must lead to change
in our country. Racial hatred has
no place in the greatest city in
the world, New York City.
Th is moment in our lives must
not be passed over. We need to
use this moment in our history
to examine what can be done to
eff ect change and recognize that
racial hatred exists in our country.
Th at must change — the
same old ways will not work.
No one can deny the pain of
Floyd’s death, but we must use its
pain to make a diff erence.
When events happen beyond
our imagination, I like to turn to
people from the past who lived
through shocking times.
I can remember like it was
yesterday: As a newlywed
in the 1960s teaching in the
Midwood section of Brooklyn,
I wanted to join my friend and
go to Fortunoffs on Livonia
Avenue in Brownsville. Sadly,
there were riots in the streets at
the time and everyone thought
we were crazy to go, but we
went anyway. Seeing the burnt
homes and businesses broke
my heart.
And now our beloved city is
being torn apart again. It was
sad to see the plundering then,
and it still is now. My prayers to
George Floyd’s family. His murder
is a stain on all of us. How
will we endure?
From the chaos of the 1960s
emerged a great leader in Martin
Luther King Jr., who inspired
us to stand together to fi ght the
injustices in our country. I’m still
inspired with hope by the words
of the man who lit up the world
with his wisdom.
Martin Luther King Jr., in his
famous speech, said “I have a
dream that one day this nation
will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed: ‘We hold
these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal.’”
We need to remember that,
and his other powerful words:
“We must discover the power of
love, the redemptive power of
love. And when we do that, we
will make of this old world a new
world, for love is the only way.”
I have a dream for my children
and theirs that we can build
a better world from the ashes of
this past week.
Now is a time to take action.
Change is critical and if we
heed what Brooklyn Borough
President Eric Adams said —
“we will not succeed until we all
succeed” — then we will all live
in a better world.
Victoria’s
DIARY
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
tweet me @vschneps
An impactful time in history
Police offi cers kneeled with
protesters in a moment of
solidarity in Jamaica.
Storefronts were shuttered across the city to prevent looting.
A tribute to my journalists
Kudos to our staff , who spent endless
hours covering the protests this
week, which brought hundreds of
thousands of readers to our online media.
Here’s how Robert Pozarycki, the editor
in-chief of amNewYork Metro and our
Manhattan media, summarized our coverage:
Friday aft ernoon, we sent reporters to
cover the protests at Foley Square and
Barclays Center. Th ey worked through the
night to get not just the story, but also the
photos and videos from the scene — taking
great risks in doing so.
One member of our team, Todd Maisel,
got hit with police pepper spray and a fl ying
shoe; he was okay, and he kept on working.
Our amNewYork Metro team worked
together with the Brooklyn Paper staff to collaborate
on stories and get them live as soon
as possible.
Saturday, we mobilized the editorial team
and secured help from freelance photographers
to gather news, photos and videos
from protests across the city. When things got
heated in the evening, we sent reporter Mark
Hallum out to Union Square and got there
just in time to see an NYPD van burst into
fl ames close to where he stood. Working with
Mark, we scrambled to get a story up late.
We had reporters out in the fi eld again
Sunday and Monday in Brooklyn, Queens
and Manhattan, taking every precaution to
stay safe, while working to deliver news to
our readers.
I want to recognize, in a special way, the
amNewYork Metro team of Todd Maisel,
Emily Davenport, Mark Hallum and
Alejandra O’Connell, as well as Meaghan
McGoldrick and Ben Verde in Brooklyn;
and Zach Gewelb and Angélica Acevedo
in Queens for their tireless eff orts in helping
us get stories together for our media and
keep New Yorkers informed of what transpired.
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
