On May 27, Tony McDade died as a result of racism in the police system. McDade was a black transgender man, and he was brutally shot several times that night in Tallahassee, Florida. Apparently, he was thought to have had a handgun and the police said he was trying to make a "move consistent with using the firearm against the officer." While we are not sure if that is true today, or an excuse for the police force to stay out of the public heat, an eyewitness reported to having seen the officer use no warnings of shooting McDade, and kept shooting him when he was down. In Florida, it is ok to keep the name of officers involved in a shooting anonymous, because they are classified as "victims," but it is known from others that he was White. This act of racism is cruel and offensive, especially in a time of the Black Lives Matter Movement (following the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor). And more than being a minority as being African American, he was also transgender, which is an awful act to do to such a growing community. This act of cruelty and other killings and protests in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement come to show that racism is still alive in a what is seen to be a modernizing country.
In Sing, Unburied, Sing, it is said by the character Richie that Parchman is the past, present, and the future at once. I feel that the author is trying to portray racism through Parchman and illustrate the idea that even though the story of the novel is set before modern times, racism is still in their future, which is our present.
No comments:
Post a Comment