“It showed other cultures what we as a people have to do to prepare our children to face a world that may not look beyond their skin color.”
In light of the George Floyd protests to end police brutality and injustice that have been sweeping across the nation for the last week and a half, many brands, companies, celebrities, countries and television networks have stood in solidarity with the cause and the ending of unfair treatment towards black Americans. #BlackLivesMatter
On Tuesday, June 2, the ABC network showed their support by playing the well-timed reruns of a 2016 Black-ish episode “Hope” where the Johnsons’ explore the themes of race and police brutality as a family, reflecting what families and individuals are going through now as we all try to make sense of things and figure out how to do our part in this fight to prevent further tragedies like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and so many more.
The creator of Black-ish, Kenya Barris, voiced his thoughts on Instagram of the re-airing of the monumental episode, “it’s been 1,562 days since we first shared that episode with the world and it breaks my heart on so many levels that this episode feels just as timely as it did then and eerily prescient to what’s happening to black people in this country today.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA8kAakBguA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The 2016 “Hope” episode is a poignant now as it was then, as a reminder for families, friends, and loved ones to hold similar and much-needed discussions like the Johnsons’ expressing their thoughts and feelings about the death of black people at the hands of those who made an oath to serve and protect, and how creating a change now can leave hope for the future.
Regardless of gender, occupation, or age having this discussion and episode is needed more than ever now to keep our loved ones protected.
As a black mother of two, one being a young black man, Nicole expressed her thoughts on the episode and the importance of having a similar talk with her own family, “It showed other cultures what we as a people have to do to prepare our children to face a world that may not look beyond their skin color. I think if we don’t have this discussion, we are sending our children out there into the world without ‘the talk’ or knowledge that they need to survive an interaction. Additionally, law enforcement are just as accountable for their interactions with us. I think it will begin with the person behind the badge, and who they are as a person.”
Col. Dexter Nunnally expressed his own sentiments about families having this discussion. “We have that discussion because people will look at you all differently, look at us differently, no matter what,: Nunnally said. “Some people can’t look beyond that, but police brutality itself is wrong.
“I have enough sense to know that not all law enforcement are bad, we have relatives and friends who have served as law enforcement officers,” Nunnally added, when asked how to maintain faith in police while having this discussion. “It’s no different than the military; when we do something bad in the military, people don’t lose faith in the military, they recognize that people make mistakes. And you are going to have a bad element that is going to do wrong. The issue is: acknowledging that and doing something about it. That is where law enforcement has got to fixes themselves.”
As protests continue and people demand change and accountability, these demands have to take place at local and state levels. Speak out at town hall meetings, talk to your mayors, city councils, governors or, other governing bodies about the issues and how laws need to be changed so officers, like Derek Chauvin, are held accountable for their actions now and in the future.
