"That happened a long time ago. Why are we still talking about it?"
"We can't change history. Let's move on."
"Things are better now. Stop complaining."
As if the murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers and Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and Fred Hampton and Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair and Addie Mae Collins and. . .
As if their deaths and why they were killed has no relevance today.
As if they were just sad and unjust historical events – people we've recognized, honored, and eulogized, who are no longer present in our imagination.
As if the so-called current events are somehow disconnected from the so-called historical events.
As if there's a clear delineation between a current event and a historical event.
When does that happen? The minute after? The next day? The next month, year, decade?
They're all current events. It's all happening now. What's happening now happened now and now and now for centuries.
We only say it happened then to absolve ourselves from exploring its significance on what's happening today.
When do the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery become historical events?
When we get tired of talking about them?
I feel change coming.
Change that is leading to better future current events.