Letter to the editor: Uprising may be painful new beginning

The National Guard was sent in to control the uprising in Minneapolis, and cities across the country have joined in the protest and uprising against racial injustice and the inhumane treatment of black citizens at the hands of white law enforcement officers.

Yes, I am calling it an uprising, not a riot. An uprising starts because of extreme pressure and unfair conditions. It’s like a volcano that erupts with explosive force after years of pressure building up. That’s what’s happening in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and across the nation. After years of mistreatment by white racist police officers and years of living with and around racism and racist attitudes, eventually people will explode in anger and an uprising will result.

Unfortunately, an uprising is usually necessary to change laws that keep people oppressed, necessary to change the way people are treated. Watching George Floyd die with a white police officer’s knee on his neck and his hand so casually placed in his pocket, ignoring the pleas of a dying man, was too much for the people to take — hence the uprising.

Now the people are finally being heard and seen by the nation and the world. They’ve had enough of being oppressed and repressed.

We are witnessing the beginning of an ending of tolerating abuse and unfairness. We are watching the beginning of a new chapter for black citizens in Minnesota and across America. This is the birth of change: It’s hard labor, it’s painful, but it’s necessary to force better treatment, fairness and equality for all black people.

Robin Hammonds

Manchester