North Texans Reflect On Murder Of George Floyd 1 Year Later
by Steve Pickett | CBS 11
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Lowry Manders is a pre-school educator in Northeast Dallas, who will never forget the video of George Floyd pressed to the pavement, a police officer's knee to Floyd's neck.
"After people watched the video, we knew people in our community, black and white, were hurting and scared. We didn't want them to feel they were alone", the Lake Highlands mother of two said Tuesday, May 25.
Manders formed Lake Highlands Area Moms Against Racism (LHAMAR). She partnered with mothers of children from Richardson ISD, working to provide forums to discuss and enlighten their community to issues and acts affecting black, Latino and other ethnic minority groups.
One month after Floyd's killing, LHAMAR produced a photo exhibit, displaying the images of Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Jordan Edwards and more than one dozen others, illustrating the volume of black men and women killed by police. The event was one act to promote understanding after Floyd's killing, but the exhibit generated opposition.
Residents objected to "Black Lives Matter" signs being a part of the exhibit during its display outside of Lake Highlands High School. One year after Floyd's death, the LHAMAR exhibit is up again, and the group's efforts to address racial bias openly continues.
"At the minimum, all we want is black people to be safe when they encounter police. We want to talk about skin color. We see color, and the history of racist policing", Manders said.
"It broke my heart, as the daughter of a policeman", Dr. Sheron Patterson, pastor of Hamilton Park United Methodist Church recounted Tuesday.
Patterson called the killing of Floyd emotional trauma, fueled by a country's systemic racial history, a police brutality legacy. Patterson started Moms for Police Reform, lobbying state lawmakers to support statutes that hold police accountable.
She has joined LHAMAR, by endorsing their outreach to speak out on racism, in all forms.
"I have found some kindred hearts willing to speak up, and that's a big deal to find someone to come and say I'm with black people, to say Black Lives Matter".
