Anti-racism protests have broken out across the world, calling for justice for George Floyd.
George, an unarmed black man, died whilst being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May.
In viral video footage taken by a bystander, a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, can be seen kneeling on the 46-year-old’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, whilst pinning him to the ground. ‘I can’t breathe…please stop,’ were his last words but the police officer continued to choke him until he lost consciousness. He died in hospital an hour later.
George Floyd’s brutal killing has brought to light a much deeper issue about the deeply engrained systemic racism felt across the world, with people standing up across the globe to say enough is enough.
Activist Rachel Cargle is one of the figures at the forefront, with her powerful words on the need to be actively anti-racist going viral.
‘It’s not enough to say, “Oh, I know it’s happening and I hope it gets better,”‘ Rachel Cargle explained in an interview with InStyle.
‘It’s saying, “I see you and I feel you and I understand, and I’m going to hold myself accountable.”‘
She continued: ‘That is what will move someone into action to say, “I can no longer be complacent. I can no longer be silent. It’s not enough to be not racist. I have to be actively anti-racist.”
‘We really need to start shifting the word from ally to accomplice. To not just saying, “I hear you. I see you. I’m going to use my voice for you.” Instead it needs to be, “I am here alongside of you to upend the system that is killing you every day.” That isn’t a checkbox. That’s not a checklist you can go through.
‘It doesn’t end when white people feel better about what they’ve done, it ends when black people are staying alive and they have their liberation. There has to be this conversation of not having an end of, “I have done this and this and that, so now I am an ally.”
This article originally appeared on marie claire UK.
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