The 9.29-minute video beacon
When she captured the killing of George Floyd on her phone for nine minutes and 29 seconds, it’s unlikely that Darnella Frazier, a 17year-old high school student, could have imagined it would lead to an eruption of international empathy.
People in London and elsewhere gathered and further fueled outrage over the killing in the United States. As she later acknowledged, Darnella was unaware that the video would change her life. Her lawyer said, “It was the most awful thing she ever saw.” Her only regret initially was that she did not do enough to save Mr. Floyd’s life.
Darnella’s 9-year-old cousin, Judeah, was also there that day. She said she “was sad and kind of mad.” What could have been really going through that young mind the day Mr. Floyd was pinned down? And what was she thinking at the trial almost a year later as a testifying witness?
Younger children aren’t always able to verbalize their feelings. Which makes me wonder how any of my five grandchildren, ages seven to 13, or any other young child might have reacted.
Moreover, Darnella could never have anticipated that her 9.29-minute video would be pivotal evidence at a landmark trial. Nor that the video would awaken a nation to a better understanding of its history of systemic racism. And perhaps that eventually it could lead to legislation for vetting out those unfit to be entrusted with everyone’s safety.
I believe most law enforcement officers are generally vested in protecting all of us, regardless of the tint in our skins. And I know individuals who have served honorably as policemen, including a family member. Unfortunately, there are those who have created irreparable grief for segments of our society.
The sentencing of Derek Chauvin will take place about eight weeks after his April 20 conviction. Also, the three police onlookers at the crime scene are scheduled to go on trial in August. Will they agree to face a jury individually or as a group? Or will they each opt for a plea bargain? This could reduce the possibility of their being found culpable. And thereby circumvent the risk of extended sentences.
As I listened to the verdict, I felt an emotional lift. My investment in the outcome of the Chauvin trial was deep, real, and total. As it was for many others across this country.
And I re-thought this week’s column. Originally my plan was to write a humorous essay on the world’s noise intruders. I read through what I had drafted originally. It seemed trite in the midst of a trial the world tuned into.
And then a bundle of thoughts rushed through my mind. Other Black lives had been unnecessarily ended. And others, like me, had bemoaned the loss and felt sadness. But Mr. Floyd’s death had more than a stain of difference.
Was the reason his death was different simply because of a 9.29-minute video a teenager had filmed of an appalling killing with the victim pleading for air with “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe?” Could it have been my concluding that “enough is enough.”
My sense was that others shared my “enough” outcry. Some may have felt there were no more straws left to be drawn. And that we had gone far beyond the proverbial tipping point.
As I thought about it, my sense was that the video had coincided with a once-in-acentury pandemic. George Floyd died May 25, 2020, just as the virus’ headwinds sped up.
Additionally, unemployment was increasing. People were spending more time at home listening and watching everything. And in late May a perfect “human storm” was gathering with the worst possible health, economic and social elements intersecting. Because of confluence and a 9.29minute video of a handcuffed man with a knee pressing down on his neck, people globally latched onto the George Floyd cause.
What about our future? Will the killing of George Floyd fade away? History shows there have been more such tragedies than many people might think. And indeed, some have been beyond gruesome.
A half century from today will Darnella Frazier’s 9.29minute video be seen as showing just another incident in our unfortunate past? Or will it be recognized as a beacon that led to true change? I like to think of myself as a recovering optimist.