OPRAH Winfrey said that America “is on a tipping point” following the killing of George Floyd.
Winfrey called for an “open conversation” about systemic racism and the current state of the nation during the first night of her town hall about racism titled ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’
“For black people everywhere, we recognize that knee on the neck,”’ Winfrey said, referring to the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Floyd’s neck as Floyd gasped for air before dying.
“And just like in your own family, the family that is our country, cannot move forward without calling out that pain.”
Winfrey continued: “I’ve been talking and Zooming with friends, and the same question keeps popping up over and over: Is this the moment that will finally change our country, where people will recognize systemic racism for the problem and the evil that it is?”
Her town hall was joined by a panel of 10 prominent African Americans, including Stacey Abrams, Charles M. Blow, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Ava DuVernay, Jennifer Eberhardt, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ibram Kendi, David Oyelowo, Rashad Robinson and Bishop William J. Barber II. Winfrey broadcasted the event on the night of George Floyd’s funeral.
Speaking during the town hall, New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones made powerful remarks when she said that “Black Americans are tired of having to prove our humanity only when the most inhumane thing happens to us.”
George Floyd died of asphyxiation from sustained pressure last month after white cop Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes during an arrest.
The death has triggered an outcry and hundreds of protests against racial inequality across America and major cities around the world.
In Houston, Simone Bartee, 5, from Houston can be heard sobbing as she asks the officer “are you gonna shoot us?” at the peaceful demonstration she attended with her family on Tuesday.
The cop in question can be seen hugging Simeon as he tells her “we’re here to protect you, okay?”
“We’re not here to hurt you at all,” he said. “You can protest, you can party, you can do whatever you want.”
Hannah-Jones was preceded by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Abrams touched on the history of racism in American from police brutality to the healthcare system
“These are all confluent moments happening at the same time. I want to amplify not only what Nikole Hannah-Jones said about Breonna Taylor, but let’s bring in Ahmaud Arbery,” Abrams said “Also, let’s not forget that 110,000 people who have died in this country this year from COVID-19, a disproportionate number are Black”
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also expressed her frustration about the way to undo systematic racism.
“As a mother and as a mayor, I’m struggling with finding the solution as well. I’m feeling a whole range of emotions just like the rest of America,” said Mayor Bottoms.
As tensions over police brutality and racial inequality continue to rise, “defund the police” has become a new rallying cry and hashtag for advocates pushing for reform.
Mayor of Minneapolis and Donald Trump have pushed back at the plan to abolish the city’s police in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Mayor Jacob Frey has reiterated that he does not support cutting the police department, while Trump said the country needs “law and order”.
While NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he intended to take money from the NYPD’s $6 billion budget and allocate these funds to social services instead. Though, he stopped short of announcing the exact amount, saying it has yet to be decided.
In 2012, with crime rampant in Camden, New Jersey, the city disbanded its police department and replaced it with a new force that covered Camden County.
Compton, California, took the same step in 2000, shifting its policing to Los Angeles County.
It was a step that then-Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department was considering for Ferguson, Missouri, after the death of Michael Brown. The city eventually reached an agreement short of that but one that required massive reforms overseen by a court-appointed mediator.
The second part of Oprah Winfrey’s town hall will broadcast tonight on Winfrey’s OWN Network and 18 of Discovery’s other networks, including Discovery Channel, TLC, HGTV, and Science Channel.
