When I grow up, I want to be a Supreme Court judge. When people say, ‘your Honor he did rob the bank,’ I will say be seated. And if he doesn’t, I will tell the guard to take him out. Then I will beat my hammer on the desk. Then every body will be quiet.[1] Perry, 8 years old, 2nd grade
June 4, 2020, I got up on time at 5:25 am. I was getting up earlier so I could beat the morning heat before I went for my daily walk. Walking was my daily therapy. I especially needed to in the pandemics.[2] I cooked and ate my breakfast. I was still on time. But for some reason, I felt dehydrated, so I drank some more water. The television was on CNN. Then one of the cohosts, Allyson Camerota, said she was going to interview George Floyd’s second grade teacher after the commercial break. I wanted to see and hear her memories of her time as his teacher.
Every year, Ms. Sexton[3] had her students write a report or essay answering the following questions: How will you impact the future? What will you do to make a difference? The above essay is what 8-year old George Perry Floyd, Jr. wrote to the questions.
After the story, I went for my walk. During my walk, I was haunted. The twin pandemics of racism and poverty I felt had kept another person from reaching his potential. I sought God’s comfort. I prayed Psalm 91 over my children. The more I walked, the more Holy Spirit dealt with me. Eventually, God’s peace helped me to channel the fear and rage that I and so many African Americans have felt since being forced upon the shores of this continent.
As I walked my last mile, Holy Spirit spoke to me and asked me some questions: Constance, what is a Supreme Court judge? Haven’t you been trained as a lawyer? I mean, Constance what is the result of what a Supreme Court judge’s work?
As I thought about those questions, the more I realized that even though George Floyd died before officially becoming a Supreme Court judge while alive, he became one in death.
I thought about what a supreme court does. In the United States of America, a supreme court is the highest appellate or the court of last resort in a state[4] or when it comes to the United States, the highest appellate or court of last resort in the country. (See Black’s Law Dictionary.)[5] Basically, the judges on a supreme court make the final decision on what the law is and by making that decision the judges make policy.
George Perry Floyd, Jr. never went to law school. He never passed any bar exam. Some would say he had been a criminal. Some of these same people even claim to be Christians. The problem with those who belittle a person because of past behavior, forget that Jesus died on a cross as a criminal under Roman law.
I say that Mr. Floyd became Justice Floyd in death because laws and policies are changing. Cities are passing laws and signing executive orders outlawing choke holds. States are passing laws that will stop shielding police officer records. Others states are not only considering laws banning choke holds, but also having a special prosecutor handle all deaths caused by police instead of the local prosecutor, limiting the bargaining power of police unions, a prohibition on race-based profiling, and a measure requiring police departments and courts to track arrests by race and ethnicity to help identify patterns of bias and even taking away state funding from local police that do not comply.
Other states and cities are considering ways to reform its police agencies or even defunding the police, which is taking monies away from the police departments and using it for mental health, housing, schools, or other community programs. The United States House of Representatives are going to debate and pass a law that ban chokeholds, create a National Police Misconduct Registry, incentivize state and local governments to conduct racial bias training for officers, and set restrictions on the transfer of military-grade equipment to local law enforcement entities.[6]
Your death, Justice Floyd, told the whole world that the policy and laws of systemic racism causes death and are unconstitutional. Even though the eight-year old Perry did not fully understand the power and influence of a Supreme Court judge, he became one in death. Your ugly brutal death in front of the world woke us up. The people in your Houston community who knew you, said you were always encouraging the generation who came behind you to do better.[7] Your death caused this next generation of activists behind you to want change, but not in piecemeal measures, but “with all deliberate speed.”
I believe that there will be lasting change because I have faith in this new generation of activists. I believe they will not stop until lasting change comes. This new generation of activists are saying enough is enough. Justice Floyd, your death has caused laws and policies to change, but even more than that it has cause hearts to change. Thank you, Supreme Court Justice, George Perry Floyd, Jr. Rest in peace.
[1] Taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmMosjRS6tw. Aired on CNN’s Good Day, June 4, 2020
[2] I started walking about three years ago for health reasons.
[3] Waynel Sexton, George Perry Floyd, Jr. second grade teacher
[4] In New York, the highest court is called the Court of Appeals, in Maine and Massachusetts, it is called the Supreme Judicial Court
[5] Black’s Law Dictionary Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern, Sixth Edition, Nolan, Joseph, R. and Nolan-Haley, Jacqueline, M., St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing, 1990, pages 841, 1440.
[6] See https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/09/politics/policing-bill-timing-house/index.html
[7] See https://www.npr.org/2020/06/09/873377463/george-floyd-friends-and-family-remember-his-life-and-legacy