My Daddy Changed the World!

By: Omowale Luthuli-Allen

Gianna had the 6-year-old smile of Ms. America and Ms. Black America. She was held close to the bosom of her ridiculously beautiful mom. I do not care if her statement was rehearsed or not. From the mouth of a babe, the statement became a clarion call for resistance to evil, especially when evil is cloaked under a blue suit and a vow to serve and protect. At 6 years old, she is beginning to understand the toxic fuel of hate and ignorance. George Floyd’s daughter wants us to change the world for her and future generations.

George Floyd was an unwilling martyr for the cause of a new world order. It is the new world order that Curtis Mayfield, America’s songwriter, spoke about three decades ago.

George is a reincarnation of Crispus Attucks who let his blood be spilled in a protest that gave birth to an opportunity to build a new nation. President George Washington and Thomas Jefferson could not do it because they were hypocrites and slaveowners.

From “I CAN’T BREATHE” to “WE CAN’T BREATHE,” millions are on the move and “Boss” can’t turn the heat down on a simmering kettle that is on the brink of explosion. Boss thinks that broken windows and stolen flat screens are where we should turn our focus.

George Floyd was Eric Garner reincarnated. Garner’s death at the hands of sworn civil servants is unreal. Unreal because he was tackled and strangled through a chokehold for selling cigarettes on the street. Garner was a capitalist, although an illegal capitalist, but it is unfathomable that he would be the victim of deadly force by sworn officers of NYPD. Never did this loving father think that he was going to be the poster child for police reform. The momentum and motion underneath the Floyd protests can be the force that abolished the chokehold and the slave catchers that exercised this need to die tactic.

Jose Campos Torres, 1977, was savagely beaten, handcuffed and thrown into Buffalo Bayou by the Houston Police Department. Have you forgotten Jose? Marches commenced in Houston and there was a disturbance at Moody Park. These tactical blunders should have been corrected over the past 50 years. I am reminded of an African proverb that says when the fool learns the game, the game is over. Blue ribbon commissions were formed, and clichés streamed from various quarters about the rights of man, but after the clamor for change died down, the reactionary forces resurfaced in Houston and nationwide.

Let’s calm down and carry on by doing as Floyd’s brother stated, “Let’s stop the non-selective senseless and random violence and target our protests.”

Progress is incremental. There was progress under Mayor Kathy Whitmire, Mayor Lee Brown and Mayor Annise Parker. There was progress under Brown when he was police chief, and Chief C.O. Bradford, but it was drip, drip, drip. But this is the way that change happens. Change happens from the WEIGHT of NOTHING.

Let me explain, a snow dove observes snowflakes falling on a might limb on a might tree. Change is imperceptible. Eventually, one single snowflake falls on the limb and it comes crashing down. Torres, Garner and Floyd are the weight of nothing that can collapse a nation.

Prophet and scholar WEB Dubois was crystal clear when he said that the problem of the 20th century was the color line. It is unbelievable that the 21st century carries the burden of the color line.

While we struggle for significant reform, continue to have the talk with your children, especially black boys. When they tell you that Mr. Floyd did everything right and the cops still killed him, tell them to keep practicing the 10 Rules for Successful encounters with the police and you will help become the change that you desire. Become a BLACK FUTURES THINK TANK and a shining light on a hill.

Get Home Safely: 10 rules of survival if stopped by the police

1. Be respectful when stopped by the police.
2. If you feel your rights have been violated, you and your parents have the right to file a formal complaint.
3. Do not get in an argument with the police.
4. Always remember that anything you say or do can be used against you in court.
5. Keep your hands in plain sight.
6. Avoid physical contact with police officers. Do not make any sudden movements.
7. Do not run—even if you are afraid.
8. Even if you believe you are innocent, do not resist arrest.
9. Do not make any statements about the incident until you are able to meet with a lawyer or public defender.
10. Stay calm and remain in control. Watch your words. Watch your body language. Watch your emotions.

Remember, your goal is to get home safely.