- In an interview earlier this week, singer Kelly Rowland discussed the impact George Floyd's death has had on her and on the nation
- Floyd died after a Minneapolis police office used his knee to pin him down by the neck, maintaining pressure for several minutes after video of the incident shows Floyd going limp and appearing to be unconscious. The video, which quickly went viral, also showed Floyd clearly begging the officer to release the pressure and repeatedly expressing that he could not breathe and was in duress.
- Rowland was in tears while discussing Floyd's death, which she said has made her feel "angry," "hurt," and, at times, "hopeless."
Kelly Rowland is joining with the millions of people around the country expressing the pain, hurt, and frustration many feel following the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died after being pinned down for several minutes by a police officer who held him with his knee pressed on Floyd's neck.
During a discussion with Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier this week, the singer attempted to hold back tears while discussing the impact Floyd's death has had on the nation.
"I can't sit still. I'm angry. I'm hurt. At times feeling hopeless," she said while tearing up. "But then sometimes I look at my son and I'm like, hell no. I gotta keep going and what do I need to do? [I'm] feeling for the families that have to go through all this. Communities, all their emotions, [it] just makes me angry. There's so many things I'm feeling, like everyone else."
Rowland discussed the impact Floyd's death has had on the black community, explaining:
"Yesterday I was just mad, like red mad, and then last night, it was tough to sleep. I'm happy that it's actually bothering us the way it is now, because that's when action happens. But we have to have a way to move together, if that makes any sense. We need a way to move together, because if we move and we're just acting out of all this anger and madness and emotion, [it won't work]. We have to be collected and unified.
But this is years upon years of oppression and depression. It's so deeply rooted. And that's why we're having a tough time with all this. There's so much trauma. Even watching it every day is trauma. What is this going to do to us in 10 years? We're watching it. How can you not be appalled? If you're not black, you should be appalled. If you're not black, you should be moving. You should be saying something, posting something."
The officer in the video, Derek Chauvin, has been fired from the police department and, on Friday, he was formally charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for his role in Floyd's death.
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