Many years ago (1973-74), I spent almost a year living in Mobile, Alabama (USA), in an “Experiment in International Living” program. Alabama: the State where Rosa Parks defied segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in March 1955. I taught Spanish at the University of South Alabama during that time, and lived with different families. For some understandable reason, I first made friends with the black people with whom I was in daily contact: housemaids, gardeners, janitors. They were much warmer than the “white supremacists” I met. I witnessed with my own eyes the undisguised racism, which still persists in the American society.
It’s not surprising that George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis has brought about such a wave of protests in the United States. It’s the last straw that breaks the camel’s back, as the saying goes. Besides, what can you expect from a racist president like Trump, a despicable guy who builds walls rather than bridges?
Giana, Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, said: “Dad changed the world”. I do hope she’s right. I do hope his death has not been in vain. I do hope Americans don’t vote for Trump once again. For the world’s sake. Amen.
Published in Buenos Aires Times