Updated May 27th, 2020 at 14:50 IST
Padma Lakshmi calls for ‘cultural reckoning’ as death of black man sparks outrage
Padma Lakshmi lambasted the police department for the excessive force used on George Floyd whom the grocery store had suspected of using a forged cheque.
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The death of a black man in Minneapolis, US, sparked a public outcry after the video showed a white police officer pressing his knee against the victim’s neck. Noted Indian-American celebrity chef Padma Lakshmi lambasted the police department for the excessive force used on George Floyd whom the grocery store had suspected of using a forged cheque.
Police violence against coloured people has been a growing matter of concern in the United States. Taking to Twitter, Padma Lakshmi said that the police “murdered” a Minnesota man because a grocery store suspected he was writing a forged check. Demanding justice for Floyd, she added that anyone would immediately arrive at the conclusion that the victim was a person of colour.
News outlets thoughtlessly airing and re-posting explicit videos of Black people being killed by the police on social media isn't the solution here. We need a cultural reckoning.
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi)
A Twitter user replied that the police used excessive force because Floyd was “explicitly black”, saying some persons of colour are treated the way they treat black people. Another user said that her mother used to write bad cheques all the time and his father was a drug dealer but neither of them was “murdered nor expected to be murdered” because they are white.
Padma, he was explicitly Black. Some POC are just not racialized and treated the way Black folks are. Not in Minneapolis. Not anywhere else.
— Abeer (@AbeerSyedah)
The officer that watched him die was Asian-Am The store is run by Arab-Ams. We play a role in anti-Blackness.
Read: Trump's Campaign To Spend $1 Million On Advertisements Against Biden Over 'black' Remark
'His life mattered'
After a nationwide outrage on the killing of Floyd, four officers involved in the incident were fired by the Minneapolis chief with the mayor Jacod Frey’s full backing. Frey said in a statement that being black should not be a death sentence, adding that the officer kneeling on Floyd failed in the most basic, human sense.
“The man’s life matters. He matters. He was someone son. Someone’s family member. Someone’s friend. He was a human being and his life mattered,” said Frey.
Joe Biden, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee who is popular among African-American voters, tweeted that Floyd deserved better and his family deserves justice. Biden said that he is grateful for the swift action to fire the officers involved and called for a thorough investigation by the FBI. According to a report released by the FBI, 1,943 incidents were reported in 2018 as hate crimes against anti-Black or African American but the report doesn’t highlight the incident of police violence against African Americans.
Read: Four Minneapolis Officers Fired After Death Of Black Man
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Published May 27th, 2020 at 14:50 IST