Portland Timbers forward Jeremy Ebobisse calls for real change beyond a “social media movement,” in a powerful essay.
The 23-year-old forward said he’s wrestled with what to write over several days following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which has sparked protests throughout the country in the aftermath.
Ebobisse said Floyd is just the latest victim of police brutality that sparks widespread outrage, following similar incidents involving Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and others.
“I’m agitated, I’m angry, I’m filled with despair,” Ebobisse wrote. “This isn’t some feel good post about how I’m inspired that everyone is posting about George Floyd, honoring another black man taken much too soon at the hands of the state.”
Ebobisse hopes Floyd’s death is the impetus for true systematic change, but “there exists a cynic in me, a cynic that protects me from getting my hopes up, a cynic that reminds me that this will blow over in most minds and we will still be isolated in our fight for human and civil rights.”
Ebobisse said its time for others to join blacks in “the timeless fight against state sanctioned violence and discrimination.” That the fight is more than just about George Floyd.
