GEORGE FLOYD'S BROTHER CAME
TO MINNESOTA TO PAY RESPECTS AT
THE PLACE WHERE GEORGE DIED.
YESTERDAY WAS THE FIRST TIME
THAT WE SAW TERRENCE FLOYD HERE
IN MINNEAPOLIS, RIGHT AT THE
SPOT WHERE HIS BROTHER LOST HIS
LIFE.
TERRENCE SPEECH WAS PRECEDED BY
A PRAYER CIRCLE AROUND THE
INTERSECTION AND HUNDREDS
KNEELED FOR TERRENCE, ONCE HE
ARRIVED TO SHOW THE SUPPORT.
THE CROWD ALSO CHANTED, GEORGE
FLOYD.
TERRENCE TALKED ABOUT PEACE,
ASKING PEOPLE TO PROTEST, BUT
STOP DESTROYING THEIR
COMMUNITIES.
HE ASKED PEOPLE TO GET OUT AND
VOTE, EDUCATE THEMSELVES, AND
DEMAND JUSTICE PEACEFULLY.
PLEASE.
MY BROTHER MOVED HERE FROM
HOUSTON.
I USED TO TALK TO HIM ON THE
PHONE.
HE LOVED TO HEAR.
HE STARTED DRIVING TRUCK.
HE WAS GOOD.
I HIGHLY DOUBT KNOW, NO, I KNOW.
HE WOULD NOT WANT Y'ALL TO BE
DOING THIS.
JOINING US NOW TO TALK MORE
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD IS A
PSYCHOTHERAPIST AND MIDMORNING
CONTRIBUTOR DR. COREY YEAGER.
DR. YEAGER, THANKS SO MUCH FOR
BEING WITH US THIS MORNING.
GOOD MORNING, HOW ARE YOU?
YOU KNOW, WE ARE OKAY.
THIS IS A CHAOTIC TIME.
THIS IS A PAINFUL TIME.
ONE OF THE MOST PAINFUL TIMES
THAT I CAN THINK WE CAN
REMEMBER IN RECENT HISTORY.
YOU SAY THOUGH THAT THIS
ADVERSITY CAN ACTUALLY BREED
SOME SORT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR
HEALING?
YES. LET ME START BY SAYING,
I WILL PAY HOMAGE AND SAY
CONDOLENCES TO GEORGE FLOYD,
THE FAMILY OF GEORGE FLOYD.
PART OF OUR NBA FAMILY.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, TO
BEGIN, GIVE CONDOLENCES TO
THOSE.
AS WE THINK ABOUT 2020, WE WENT
FROM KOBE BRYANT TO COVID TO
GEORGE FLOYD. AND IN THE LAST
30 DAYS, HEATHER, IF WE THINK
ABOUT IT, THE BLACK COMMUNITY
HAS WATCHED A BLACK MAN BEING
MURDERED FOR JOGGING.
BLACK WOMAN WAS MURDERED WHILE
SHE WAS SLEEPING.
AND THEN WE WATCHED THE
SENSELESS MURDER OF GEORGE
FLOYD.
SO THE COMMUNITY IS, IT HAS BEEN
OF THAT, AND IT'S EVEN MORE
INTENSELY GOT UP.
ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK IS
IMPORTANT, DESPERATION IS AT
HAND.
I THINK WE ARE ALL, FOR QUITE
SOME TIME, HEATHER, DESPERATION
FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE MANAGED IT.
THIS MOMENT SEEMS QUITE
DIFFERENT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK
THAT WE ARE STRUGGLING AND
STRIVING FOR IS THAT THIS
ENTIRE COUNTRY MUST FACE, THE
PROCESS OF RECONCILIATION.
WE CANNOT RECONCILE WITHOUT
TRUTH.
IN A RELATIONSHIP, THERE IS
DISMAY.
THERE MUST BE TRUTH BEFORE THAT
CAN BE RECONCILED.
WHAT YOU MEAN BY TRUTH,
COREY?
WHAT SORT OF TRUTH ARE WE
LOOKING FOR HERE?
THE TRUTH OF WHERE WE ARE,
WHAT THE JOURNEY FOR THIS
COUNTRY HAS BEEN WITH BLACK
FOLKS.
THAT WE OFTEN WILL START THE
CONVERSATION. WE WILL HOLD IT
BRIEFLY AND SAY, THAT WASN'T MY
ANCESTORS, MY ANCESTORS MIGHT
HAVE DONE SOMETHING BUT I
DIDN'T AND MY MOM AND DAD
DIDN'T.
THE PROBLEM IN THAT ISSUE
THERE, JASON, IS THAT THE BLACK
COMMUNITY IS LEFT TO HOLD THE
BAG OF ISSUES.
WE ARE TOLD HEY, WATCH YOUR
STEPS.
OFTEN TIMES THE SYSTEM IS SET
UP WHERE WE MAY NOT HAVE BOOTS,
THERE IS NOT STRAPS ON THE
BOOTS.
SO IF WE CANNOT MOVE THROUGH
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION, IF WE
LOOK AT SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTH
AFRICA HAD A TRUTH AND
RECONCILIATION PROCESS
FOLLOWING THE APARTHEID.
IF YOU GO TO SOUTH AFRICA, THEY
WILL DISCUSS THOSE DEEP DARK
PROCESSES IN THEIR PAST. WE
HAVEN'T DONE THAT IN THIS
COUNTRY.
PEOPLE WANT TO STOP WITH
LOOKING AT THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL
RACISM, WITHOUT LOOKING AT
SYSTEMIC RACISM, WHICH IS A
MUCH BIGGER ISSUE, MAYBE?
SAY THAT, JASON.
SAY THAT TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
TURN TO YOUR COMMUNITY, JASON.
SAY THAT.
THE ISSUE OF WHITE FRAGILITY
AND WHITE GUILT IS NOT OUR
ISSUE.
THAT WHITE COMMUNITIES MUST
TURN TO THEIR COMMUNITIES AND
TALK ABOUT THIS WITH ONE
ANOTHER.
AND WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT BEING
HOPEFUL.
HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY.
IT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING, BUT IT
IS NOT A STRATEGY.
SO HOW WILL WE STRATEGIZE
TOGETHER?
AND RECOGNIZE THAT THIS TRAUMA
HERE, WE CAN NO LONGER TURN TO
PEOPLE FOR MORAL DIRECTION,
WHEN WE KNOW THEIR MORAL COMPASS
IS BROKEN.
HOW CAN I TURN TO ANYONE WITH
DIRECTION?
IF I KNOW THAT THE MORAL
COMPASS THAT THEY HOLD IS
BROKEN?
THAT IS THE STRUGGLE.
WE CANNOT DO THAT.
AND THE DISSONANCE THAT IS
CREATED IN OUR MINDS, I WANT
THESE TO BE BETTER, BUT SEE
THINGS THAT AREN'T.
WE HAVE THE BATTLE, WE BATTLE
WITH THAT TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
SO WE HAVE PEOPLE TODAY BEING
VOCAL ABOUT THE LOOTING BUT
SILENT ABOUT THE MURDER OF
GEORGE FLOYD.
SO WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE
LOOTING AND THE WRITING OR THE
INSURGENTS OR THE UPRISING, BUT
WE WON'T TALK ABOUT THE MURDER
OF THE MAN THAT SPARKED THIS
SITUATION.
WE HAVE SO MUCH WORK.
TO YOUR POINT, HEATHER, LET ME
MOVE BACK.
ADVERSITY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR
GROWTH.
IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY.
OPPORTUNITIES ARE JUST THAT, THE
MAYBE PRESENT, WE MAY NOT TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF IT.
WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH
THIS ADVERSITY TO COME TOGETHER.
THE QUESTION THAT REMAINS IS,
WILL WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT
OPPORTUNITY?
IT IS IN FRONT OF US.
WILL WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT?
IT STILL IS YET TO BE SEEN.
WE, AS A COMMUNITY, HAVE NOT
FOUND THE OPPORTUNITY YET TO
REST.
WE ARE BATTLING WITH NO REST.
WE HAVE CONTINUED TO BATTLE AND
HAVE NO REST.
SO WE CAN'T, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW
WHERE TO TURN RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE STRUGGLING TO BATTLE.
SO I MEAN, THERE IS A TON OF
PIECES THERE.
BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE, FOR
ME, THE THEME OF WHAT WE ARE IN
NEED OF.
PART OF IT IS JUST ABOUT
UNDERSTANDING THE DEPTHS OF
DESPERATION.
YES, AND I THINK THAT IS A
CRITICAL PIECE.
AND UNDERSTANDING MAY NOT
ALWAYS BE EASY.
WE DON'T SEEK AGREEMENT.
LET ME BE CLEAR, I CANNOT SPEAK
FOR THE ENTIRE AFRICAN AMERICAN
COMMUNITY.
I CAN SPEAK ONLY FOR MYSELF.
BUT WE DON'T NECESSARILY SPEAK
IN THE SAME AGREEMENT.
WE SEEK UNDERSTANDING.
LET US BE CLEAR, THE BLACK
COMMUNITY MUST, IF WE ARE GOING
TO SURVIVE AND MAKE IT IN THIS
WORLD, IN THIS COUNTRY, WE MUST
UNDERSTAND THE WHITE COMMUNITY.
THE DIFFERENCE IS, THAT IS NOT
TRUE.
SO KNOWING THAT UNDERSTANDING
IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE
SEEKING, BUT IT IS QUITE
ELUSIVE AND HAS BEEN QUITE
ELUSIVE.
SO I SAID TODAY, HEATHER, YOU
ASKED ME HOW I'M DOING.
I SAID WELL, HEATHER, I'M
BREATHING.
AND IN THIS DAY AND AGE, IT
SEEMS LIKE FOR A BLACK MAN,
THAT IS AN ACCOMPLISHMENT.
THAT IS QUITE SAD.
THAT IS SAD.
IF SADNESS IS IN OUR MINDS, IT
MAY COME OUT AS ANGER.
IF DISAPPOINTMENT IS IN ONE'S
MIND, IT MAY COME OUT SIDEWAYS
AS ANGER.
SO LET US NOT CONFUSE THE
THOUGHT THAT ANGER THAT IS
PRESENTED IS THE PRIMARY EMOTION
. THE PRIMARY EMOTION IS
DISAPPOINTMENT AND SADNESS THAT
WE HAVE HAD IN OUR COMMUNITY
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
OR YEAGER, REALLY GREAT.
THANK YOU, COREY.
APPRECIATE IT.
IT IS A LOT OF WORK, A LOT OF
WORK TO BE DONE.
DON'T RUSH SO FAST TO TRY TO
FIND THE HEALING AND SOLVING OF
THESE THINGS.
YOU'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT WITH
THE FACT THAT THE SYSTEM IS
MESSED UP AND HAS BEEN FOR A