Member-only story
On George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and Racial Awakening
As outrage over George Floyd’s murder spreads around the globe, a reflection on my racial awakening.
The day was August 9th, 2014. It was a Saturday.
Like with dreams, I don’t quite remember how it all began, but I will never forget that afternoon, sitting in front of the TV, watching the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death.
I was furious. I was aware of similar instances of police officers killing black men, but this was the one that really got me thinking, particularly about whether or not what happened to Michael Brown could’ve happened to me.
Michael Brown was 18-years-old, I learned. I was 20.
He was described as being very big for his age, 6'4", over 250 lbs, “intimidating”. While fairly slim, I was 6'3", tall enough where “intimidating” can conceivably be used to describe me.
However, I’m Asian, and while we’re often the victims of racism as well, it’s just not quite the same.
Up to that point in my life, I had faced very little racism. Nobody had ever spewed racial epithets or blatantly discriminated against me because I was Asian, so racism was not something I really thought about.
