Anyone truly listening to the sheer pain, frustration and urgency coming out of the Black Lives Matter protests that have rocked this nation over the past three weeks, should know by now that the “same old, same old” just doesn’t cut it anymore.
If one thing has become clear during this week of overwhelmingly peaceful protests decrying not only the shocking death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black father killed May 25 after Minneapolis police officers kneeled on his handcuffed body, but also decades of police brutality against black Americans, it is that the young people of this country — particularly the young people of color organizing the protests and putting their own lives on the line to speak out against horrific social injustices that have plagued this nation since its beginning — are a powerful force for good.
We can’t pretend it’s been easy to find cause for “cheers” in this month’s “Cheers & Jeers” column, especially knowing that our country hit yet another grim milestone — 100,000 Americans now dead from COVID-19 — this week.
There was an incredible amount of news that took place in between our April 2 issue and today’s Post-Record — in the span of just one month, we went from local mayors pushing the need for physical distancing to slow the spread of the deadly COVID-19 disease to the governor talking about partially reopening Washington’s state parks and allowing golfers to hit the links again — so we have no shortage of Cheers or Jeers to give out this month.
