Renowned author and Pulitzer Prize winner, William Faulkner, once said, “Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.”

The murder on Memorial Day in Minneapolis, Minnesota of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man, has given rise to worldwide outcry. The uproar has manifested into protests that have spanned the globe, and has civilians from all races, religions, and sexual orientations calling for police reform and the termination of systemic racism.

As unrest permeates throughout the world, the calls for equality echo internationally, and as we continue to embark on the dawn of a new day, change will soon come. In fact, it’s already happening.

On Jun. 7, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, hip hop artist and social activist, Mysonne The General, spearheaded a protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that commenced on the always-busy, commercial transit hub in the West Bronx, on Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse.

The “We All We Got, We All We Need” rally marked the 11th day of protests across the ‘Big Apple’ since Floyd was killed by ex-police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin, a white male, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd lay handcuffed on the ground. He was being apprehended for allegedly making a purchase at a local store with a counterfeit $20 bill.

“We are protesting the treatment and disregard for Black and brown lives,” said Mysonne The General of nearby Highbridge. “The Bronx is a borough that is still predominantly Black and brown, and our communities are affected by both over-policing and the pressure of gentrification.”

Mysonne The General is one of the co-founders of the UNTIL FREEDOM organization, a social justice syndicate that encourages and promotes the leadership of people of color when addressing systemic and racial injustices in the United States.

Swarms of people marched down the Concourse, for a distance of three miles, to the chants of, “No Justice, No Peace” and “Black Lives Matter”. For hours at a time, the chants could be heard all through Fordham Heights, straight down towards the Concourse Village near Yankee Stadium. The march ended at Joyce Kilmer Park on 161^st Street, directly across from the Bronx Supreme Court.

At the protest, some notable participants gave a hand and showed support, including New York State Assembly Member Michael Blake, Activist and UNTIL FREEDOM organization co-founder, Tamika Mallory, hip hop pioneer and legend, Slick Rick and District 16 City Council Member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee, Vanessa Gibson. All gave meaning to the old adage, “Strength in Numbers”.

Although Councilwoman Gibson wasn’t available for comment, she made sure to post about the peaceful turnout on her Facebook page, saying, “The Bronx SHOWED up this Sunday! Huge crowd standing and walking together in solidarity, brothers and sisters united for justice. A peaceful march along the Concourse affirming that Black Lives Matter and we want our babies to live.”

She added, “So proud to see our youth in action. We follow their lead. Thank You Mysonne the General and Tamika Mallory. We will continue to stand up, march on, take a knee and demand justice until we are all free. Peace and Blessings Fam! #UntilJustice We all we got. We all we need!”

The protest which began at around 1:30 p.m. that afternoon wrapped up at approximately 5:30 p.m. However, the enthusiasm of some didn’t allow them to stop the good fight right then and there. Several protestors took the march right over the Robert Francis Kennedy Bridge into Manhattan.

Sunday also marked the end of the citywide curfew ordered by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The mayor’s rationale for the order was a collective and concerted effort by his administration to eliminate any possibility of looting, rioting and the type of violent crimes that had been witnessed on prior nights at other protests throughout the city.

There was speculation among the marchers that the lifting of the curfew might be conducive to a conflict-free environment, and they may have been right. Fox 5 later reported that no arrests were made at the protest. Compared to other nights when vandalism was observed, Sunday seemed much more subdued. It also appeared as though the NYPD employed a much less aggressive approach when dealing with the protestors.

As reported by abc7ny.com, just a few days before Sunday’s rally, Terence Monahan, the NYPD’s Chief of Department and highest-ranking uniformed cop, took a knee in a gesture of support and solidarity alongside protesters at Washington Square Park.

“I thought it was appropriate,” Monahan later said of the gesture. “We hugged to show there’s solidarity. The people who live in New York want New York to end the violence. Get the intruders that are not from this city the hell out of here and give us back our city.”

Monahan’s show of support appeared to motivate protest leaders to keep the protests peaceful. As for Monahan, who started his career as a street cop in the Bronx, he admitted he had never done anything like that before, especially with protestors. He encouraged the group to continue to protest peacefully.

The demonstration lent a helping hand to the residents of the borough as the fight to condemn police brutality continues. “We are marching to show our solidarity as a borough, for the right of people who are born and raised here to be free from police violence, and to have the economic and community support that we need to thrive,” Mysonne The General said.

The recurring, egregious practices of the New York Police Department, ranging from misconduct to the use of excessive force, have opened a door of mistrust between law enforcement officials and members of the communities they serve. Although Chauvin is in custody and facing second degree murder and manslaughter charges, the frustrations of the general public are serving as a catalyst to call for a change in how minorities are policed.

As in the cases of Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell and Eric Garner, history has taught minorities that cops avoid legal repercussions regularly. Now, the masses have spoken, and the consensus is that they have had enough of the injustices. The public scrutiny of police practices has since resulted in new legislation being passed. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law that will ban cops from using any type of chokehold, and has also repealed Section 50-A of the State Civil Rights law.

Unfortunately, Section 50-A has been used to hide police officers’ disciplinary records from public view. As suggested countless times by CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo, it is unfortunate that politicians rarely do anything out of good conscience. It’s always done out of fear of consequence.

The death of Floyd has changed the world in ways people never thought possible, but is the movement that was initially sparked by his passing actually bigger than Floyd’s life? Demonstrators throughout the protests have been seen displaying the names of countless other men and women like Ramarley Graham and Breonna Taylor who were also killed during encounters with law enforcement. Their names could be seen on tee shirts, on hand-held signs and on face masks.

Mysonne The General offers some perspective. “I wouldn’t say that because I don’t want to diminish the value that he [Floyd] played,” he said. “But he was what I call the cherry on top of the cake. There are so many layers to the cake. The first layer was slavery, the second layer was, when the overseers came, after we were released from slavery, and then the police were the third layer, and then the icing was different cases like Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Rodney King, Sandra Bland, Ahmaud Arbery, but he [Floyd] was the cherry on top of all of that, and I think it’s time for us to eat the cake now.”

“He’s the reason, so I am not saying that it’s bigger than him, but his life played a bigger purpose than what he probably would ever understand,” Mysonne The General continued. “I wouldn’t say it’s bigger than him, but what he means to this movement is going to be forever etched in history. He is going to be the thing that sparks the change that we always look for.”

It is imperative that conversations about race, prejudice and change begin within our families, in the comfort of our homes and extended to the work place. Systemic and institutionalized racism affects us all, regardless of our background. Collectively, this is all our problem.

Assuming that everyone is on board, it is critical that society focus on the task at hand, so that all proponents of social justice can plan for the long haul. We can’t have another George Floyd murder happen again.

Jason Gonzalez is a Brooklyn born, Queens bred resident of the Bronx, and freelance journalist for the last 15 years. His expertise lies in the area of sports, current events, and arts and entertainment. Some insiders refer to him as “Jay Gon”. He is a connoisseur of old-school hip hop music and is extremely fond of animals. He completed his undergraduate degree at Long Island University and his master’s at Pace University. His work can be read in The Ring [magazine], RingTV.Com, The Bronx Free Press, NYSportsDay.Com, Maxboxing.Com and TheBronxChronicle.Com. He will be part of the graduating class of 2021 at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.