NBA’s Malcolm Brogdon on Atlanta protest, beyond

Guest column: When protests fade, here’s what we must focus on as Americans.

Black people in America are fighting two viruses.

On one hand, the global pandemic brought on by COVID- 19 is disproportionately impacting black communities. The other virus – racism and its impact on black communities in America – is also alive and well.

Because of my own wealth privilege and status as an NBA player, some might think I am immune from the latter. But last week, as the protest scenes grew violent and chaotic, I looked within and asked what I could do.

Like many black men, I have been traumatized by repeatedly viewing the slow death of a brother at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sworn to protect and serve. Any decent person who watches this scene is filled with pain and anguish, horrified as George Floyd slowly asphyxiates, his neck under the knee of another human being while onlookers beg for his life.

I am angry that I had to watch, once again, an unarmed black man deliberately killed by police. I am pained, outraged and scared for our country, for my friends and for my family.

A restless energy has consumed me for the past week, and initially I couldn’t figure out how to relieve it. I’ve witnessed protests over the past decade for Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown and all the other people suffering from excessive violence, but this one felt different.

When I joined Jaylen Brown, a member of the Boston Celtics, last weekend to march with peaceful protesters in Atlanta, I gained a greater respect for the bravery and courage it has required for generations of leaders before us to stand up to their oppressors. With police flanked on either side of our crowd, the Georgia heat beamed and the fear was visceral.

I grew up in Atlanta, home to Martin Luther King Jr., the Atlanta University Center and a rich history of civil rights activism. My grandfather, John Hurst Adams, was a civil rights leader in Waco, Texas, and Seattle, organizing protest marches, sit- ins and boycotts in the fight for racial equality. The concept of participating in the fight for equality is not new to me and I was fortunate enough to grow up hearing stories of my grandfather marching alongside Dr. King.

I thought about the older generations of the black community and the sacrifices they made to achieve the progress we benefit from today. Since slavery, black people have fought to access greater opportunity, the right to own land, to vote and to desegregate public spaces all through organized protest.

For a while, I settled on excuses. I didn’t know how to protest. What positive effect will I have by being there?

This week, I am reflecting on the history of my people and the teachings of, not only my grandfather, but my namesake Malcolm X, Dr. King and Nelson Mandela. I was inspired by Malcolm X’s boldness and calls for black empowerment “by any means necessary.” Malcolm evolved over time and came to understand the humanity of us all. I also admired Dr. King’s strategic approach and ability to mobilize millions to change laws and to create a more equitable society. Mandela, a revolutionary who spent 27 years in prison, became educated enough on his nation’s issues to question the leaders in power and dismantle its apartheid system.

These great men inspired my decision to join Saturday’s protest.

I can’t lie. I was nervous. I had never done anything like this before, I had no idea what to expect and I knew that a peaceful protest could easily turn violent. But when my family and I arrived and joined the group at the Martin Luther King History Center in downtown Atlanta, that energy I had been feeling the past few days felt right at home.

I felt comforted that I was surrounded by people who were there for the same reason: systemic racism that leads to police brutality and the unnecessary killing of black women – like Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland and Iyanna Dior plus so many others – and black men, many of whose names we will never know. This has to end. I was reminded that a single decision to act can have a significant impact.

When I told my mom about my experience at the protest, she asked, “Now what?” I hadn’t gotten that far yet, but she had a great point. She reminded me that my grandfather didn’t just protest, he used his influence to connect and collaborate with other civil rights leaders and helped create plans of how they would instill real progress and change.

I don’t profess to have the answers or even a perfect strategy, but I’ve done some reflecting since Saturday and here is what I know:

❚ We must have justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and those responsible for their deaths must be held accountable.

❚ We must see the humanity in each other, so that we can lead with compassion, rather than hate.

❚ We must recognize that peaceful protest works because we create community and demonstrate our commitment to a cause. It helps people understand our pain and what needs to change.

❚ We must tear down the barriers erected to prevent our participation in elections. And we must vote at every level – local, state and federal – to support the people who will fight for us.

❚ We must demand accountability of our elected officials and law enforcement and change the policies that encourage over- policing and use of excessive force in black communities.

❚ We all must educate ourselves and participate. Together we can fight for the change that enables our country to live up to its promise for all its citizens.

We can’t give up. Too much is at stake.

CARLOS OSORIO/ AP Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon is named after Malcom X and is the grandson of civil rights activist John Hurst Adams.