The Death of George Floyd

Photo credit: via @ohhappydani on Instagram

This has been a challenging year, month and week for the United States of America. For the world, for that matter. When I watched the murder of George Floyd, like so many, I was outraged, deeply saddened and ashamed of the state of our nation. This obviously wasn’t the first time an unarmed black man (or woman) had died at the hands of the police and devastatingly, it probably won’t be the last.

I’m sure I’ve probably made some uneducated statements in the past like “All Lives Matter” but when I was taught the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement (read this) I was humbled and educated and it made total sense. I felt like a fool for ever saying All Lives Matter. Of course they do, but White people haven’t been repressed and it’s extremely important for all of us to understand our nation’s shameful history and together, to work on a path forward.

I was in college in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots and it was a tragic and surreal time. This feels different because it’s taking place all over the city, state, country and world and it’s lasting a lot longer. I pray that George Floyd’s death is a tipping point and that we can have these difficult but necessary conversations and to bring about real change.

I know travel is a privilege and is a minuscule thing when compared to the every day lives and struggles of so many Americans. But years ago, one of my friends pointed out to me that if you look and see who’s flying up front in first class, it’s almost always middle-aged white men. Now when I get upgraded, I almost always count the makeup of first class and I’m happy to report, it’s changing for the better. The numbers of women and Black people flying up front are definitely going up. In fact, on my second to last flight of 2020 (PBI-DFW in February), I remember thinking for the first time that I was the minority as there were definitely more Black people and women than middle-aged White men.

Major changes are afoot around the world, as well as changes within the travel industry. Below are some of my favorite posts from the past few days:

–Hotel CEOs Say Protests Are Our ‘Call to Action’ to Do More to Promote Racial Justice
–How the Travel Industry Can Do Its Part in the Fight Against Racism
–Ben & Jerry (my favorite ice cream, damn you Phish Food) wrote a great post with steps to take action
–National Geographic: Talking to kids about race

WHERE TO DONATE:
–National Association of Black Journalists
–Campaign Zero

These have been difficult days and I think there are more difficult days to come but I’m prepared to listen and learn how I can contribute to the changes our country so desperately needs.