This time, his name was George Floyd.

But it was also Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner and Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice and Amadou Diallo and Michael Brown and Keith Scott and Atatiana Jefferson and Jonathan Ferrell and Jordan Edwards and Stephon Clark and Sean Bell and Philando Castile and Walter Scott and Aiyana Jones and Terrence Crutcher and Freddie Gray and Alton Sterling and John Crawford and Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

A while ago, his name was Emmett Till. And before him were generations of victims. Thousands and thousands and thousands of cruel deaths.

It’s just that this time the crime – the murder of George Floyd -- was caught on video. All nine minutes. I’ll admit it: I couldn’t watch the whole thing. I don’t think of myself as a particularly squeamish person, but I don’t watch snuff films.

I could barely read George Floyd’s last words, but I did. Here they are. This is a man, dying:

"It's my face, man

I didn't do nothing serious, man

please

please

please I can't breathe

please man

please somebody

please man

I can't breathe

I can't breathe

please

(inaudible)

man can't breathe, my face

just get up

I can't breathe

please (inaudible)

I can't breathe shit

I will

I can't move

mama

mama

I can't

my knee

my nuts

I'm through

I'm through

I'm claustrophobic

my stomach hurt

my neck hurts

everything hurts

some water or something

please

please

I can't breathe, officer

don't kill me

they gon' kill me man

come on man

I cannot breathe

I cannot breathe

they gon' kill me

they gon' kill me

I can't breathe

I can't breathe

please sir

please

please

please I can't breathe"

Then his eyes shut, and his pleas ended. George Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after.

And this time, his name was Derek Chauvin. But it was also George Wallace and Bull Connor and Simon Legree and Andrew Jackson and Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest and James Earl Ray and Byron De La Beckwith and Jesse Helms and Richard Russell and William Schockley and Strom Thurmond and George Zimmerman and Stephen Miller.

But finally, enough is enough.

Maybe.

All these protests seem to be working, slowly. The taking down of statues of Confederate generals and “heroes” … renaming military forts and buildings … the banning of the Stars and Bars from NASCAR events – these are good, small beginnings. Symbols are important.

But we have a very long way to go: reforming police departments all over the country. Changing our whole concept of community policing while still catching bad guys. Moving resources from prisons and punishment to schools and community-building. Taking cops out of schools and replacing them with nurses, counselors, and social workers. Undoing Reaganism and creating another New Deal to rebuild the middle class and save capitalism from itself once again.

Here are some good places to donate to:

· The Marshall Project

· The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

· Advancement Project

· Minnesota Freedom Fund

· George Floyd Memorial Fund

· Black Lives Matter Los Angeles

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