In the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the wave of protests that have since consumed a number of cities throughout the United States and beyond, Kyle Lowry shared his perspective on the situation.
The Toronto Raptors veteran posted his thoughts to Instagram late Sunday night, wondering how to make sense of abhorrent incidents of racial injustice for his two sons, Karter and Kameron.
“How can I explain to my four-year-old and eight-year-old that being black in [America] comes with a chance you can be harmed or killed just because of the colour of your skin, the texture of your hair, the way you walk, anything they might want to say that makes you black,” Lowry wrote.
“It’s sad because I can’t explain it. I will protect them until the day I die the best I can, but it’s going to be a time when I’m not there to take the fall for them so I’m trying to find a way to say just survive!!!! #blacklivesmatter”
Lowry’s message comes after Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died last week after being pinned to the ground beneath the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who has since been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Outrage over Floyd’s death, the latest in a long list of incidents of racial injustice in the United States, has sparked a widespread uprising of protests.
On Sunday, Raptors president Masai Ujiri spoke out on the incident as well, penning a piece for The Globe and Mail to share his thoughts.
“The conversations we are having now on racism and inequality are about topics that I think are often sidestepped. Yes, I admit it can be difficult, but it is a conversation we need to have with our children, our neighbours, our co-workers, our classmates, our community and our leaders,” Ujiri wrote.
“So many of you are asking: What can I do? There is a sense of helplessness, but that must not paralyze us. Your voice matters, especially when you are a leader or influential figure, and especially if you are white. Leaders have to be bold enough to state the obvious and call out racism.
“The conversation can no longer be avoided because it is hard. We have to have it. Now.”
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