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In Sue Staton’s recent column on the current state of the country, she said people seem to have lost their minds. 

I believe people are hurting. They are angry and frustrated about injustices because no one is listening.

This column was not just about social distancing at George Floyd’s funeral. I believe it was about a black man she believes does not have worth because he had a criminal record. That doesn’t justify his killing.

Do we really love one another? Is it superficial love we have for our brothers or sisters of color? 

A man was brutally and intentionally killed by an officer who held his knee on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds while he said he couldn’t breathe, and other officers stood by and did nothing.

George Floyd had worth. God can take the worst and use them in his plan.

There are people who have not experienced the injustice and hurt I and others have, such as not being able to sit in a drug store and eat, not being able to drink from the same water fountain, having to go to the basement of the courthouse to use the bathroom for “colored only” or ordering food from restaurants and having to pick it up at the back door.

I am 69, and have lived through many experiences. These things do not define me, have not kept me from treating all with respect and love, and will not hold me back. 

This has been happening on many occasions and for many years to people of color. We have had enough, and many whites also say they have had enough.

George Floyd is not a martyr, but through his death, he has made people in this country and the world aware. They are able to see firsthand the racial injustice people of color go through.

Floyd’s, Ahmaud Arbery’s and Breonna Taylor’s deaths have given more people of color and others a chance to speak out on injustice.

God is still working in the midst of these storms. God wants us, as believers in Christ, to set examples through teaching and showing love to one to another through our actions.

Mrs. Staton said she does not support Black Lives Matter, but said all lives matter. I believe she and others do not understand the full meaning. 

When I look at my life, I know some people can’t see the hurt we as black people have gone through for many years and the hatred at times we are still incurring.

We were once considered not human beings, but property. Some still feel that way.

We were and are denied voting rights. 

We received second-hand books at Oliver School with pages torn out and racist remarks written in them. 

We are still the last hired and the first fired. 

God created us. We are his children. We have self-worth, and we want  the same opportunities and fairness for everyone. 

All lives do matter. If we believe in our hearts that all matter, then there will be no question that black lives matter.

We need to work toward having the mindset of the Good Samaritan. He didn’t know the victim. He didn’t care where he came from or what he had done. He saw a person who was wounded and needed help, and he showed compassion and love and didn’t walk on by.

William Baker,

Winchester