Last week was worse than horrible. Images of George Floyd 's terrible death were inescapable. Protests across the country started as Black people and their allies crying for justice turned to them expressing their trauma, but anarchists and white supremacists took advantage of the protests to create chaos and property damage in many communities.
Violence that happened at these protests is awful. It is also a reaction. It is important that I, as a White person, attempt to understand the pain felt by Black communities and the structures of oppression. Until leaders acknowledge that trauma and address it, we will continue to see massive protests. Increasing force to command compliance only increases the trauma.