In the heat of outrage after I watched a policeman kneel on a man’s neck and kill him, I made a poster that I held up on the Greenfield town common. It read, “George Floyd MATTERED! He Changed Our World!”

I see now from the perspective of time that this is true. An ordinary Black man did matter. We all know his name. And something did shift in our country. Many might not see or feel it now, but we are different for having witnessed on our screens, all of us helpless together, the unjust and outrageously unfair death of a Black man by a white policeman. Vigilantes of the law still exist in this country! But hearts were touched by this unfair death.

This blatant unfair violence lit a fire in us. Outrage flared, even up here in New England where things are usually calm. We marched and shouted our outrage and then it grew quiet again. But I know that I am not the same for being witness to the injustice. Just the ordinary every day activity of law enforcement officers. We are all implicated in this, and I am glad to display my outrage on the Greenfield town common this Thursday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. as we say, “Never Again.” Come join us!

Patricia Greene

Greenfield

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