Revolution, in history, is like the doctor assisting at the birth of a new life, who will not use forceps unless necessary, but who will use them unhesitatingly every time labor requires them. It is a labor bringing the hope of a better life to the enslaved and exploited masses. Che Guevara
I had to write this article right after last Friday’s Healing Circle webcast of Conversations with Al McFarlane, co-hosted by Dr. Bravada Garrett Akinsanya, founder and CEO of the African American Child Wellness Institute (AACWI). I was glad to be backstage taking notes. The tears were flowing and I would have been embarrassed. I think everyone was stunned and angry at the sentencing of Kim Potter, the white female former police officer who had been convicted of Manslaughter 1 and 2 in the murder of young Black man in Brooklyn Park.
The officer had resigned a day before it was to be announced the years she would spend incarcerated for the murder of Dante Demitrius Wright, a name she did not utter in court during her teary, pseudo remorseful testimony that convinced a judge who had obviously already made up her mind. My sentiments were beyond flabbergasted and adding to my weariness.
I heard Katie Wright, the mother of a son whose life was not worth more than the 16 month sentence in a supposedly court of law. “What this judge did,” said Wright, was to murder my son a second time. There were sparse demonstrations. But desensitization had set in.
The grieving mother broke my heart. “I’ll never forgive you for not calling my son’s name. I’ll never forgive you for what you have stolen from us. I will continue to fight until driving while Black is no longer a death sentence,” Wright said at the sentencing.
The powerful young activist and leader in the Twin Cities NAACP, Angela Rose Myers probably said it best. “Minneapolis is a grieving community. Our dehumanization has again been put on trial and ‘they’ won again.”
There was little accountability for Kim Potter’s actions. The judge who made Potter out to be a saint. A similar case occurred in Nashville, Tennessee where a white former police officer, Andrew Delke, was given a three-year sentence for shooting a young Black man in the back three times. The video showed Daniel Hambrick was not a threat. The mother was never consulted about a plea deal which reversed a 1st degree murder charge to voluntary manslaughter.
Angela McRoy is the founder of Zen Life Saving Coaching. After the execution of George Floyd and being furloughed from job in 2020 due to COVID, she decided to come back to her community. Healing had to take place if BIPOC communities were to move forward and children rescued and hopeful. She helps businesses and corporate employees deal with anxiety, stress, and depression.
McRoy said she grew up in the Cup Foods neighborhood. She was devastated after watching the video of George Floyd taking his last breath. It hit hard.
As a certified yoga instructor, McRoy earned a B.A. in organizational management, and recently completing her health and wellness certification at Cornell University (online).
Dr. Oliver Williams, Executive Director of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Communities and professor of social work at University of Minnesota, said it’s important to really delve deeper into defining just what resilience is. Some people, he says, behave like they’re okay. But what happens when they are masking challenges and have no one to talk to about how they’re feeling. This internalization often affects the victims’ health.
“I truly grieve, Dr. B. said. Dante Wright was a ‘baby’ in transition, close to evolving into his rightful place of becoming a young man. “I call it menticide, the actual process of changing the value of another human being to less than human. Think about it.,” she said.
“I’m watching this trial and find myself fighting this numbness and disassociation, said Myers.
But Dr. B. said she is emboldened, energized, hopeful, grateful, empowered, and elevated Myers and by the voices of the youth. “I was out there giving speeches when I was their age,” she said. “We were revolutionaries. Now, my job as an elder is to keep these young people healthy and help them cope with the sadness, anxiety, and depression that might hamper their hope. They must learn that life is not always a fight. As I often say, even warriors must rest. There must be balance. There must be laughter, joy, and a little contentment in the mix. Be active and communicate with a group of trusted family and friends.”
If you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, there are resources and there is immediate help Call The African American Child Wellness Institute (763) 522-0100.
Recommended Reading from Dr. Williams:
- Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America by Robert L. Allen and Herbert Boyd.
- The Port Chicago Mutiny by Robert L. Allen. Chronicles the events surrounding the explosion of a U.S. munitions ship during World War II and the subsequent refusal of sailors to unload ammunition.
