These are the times that try our souls. We look with horror at what happened to George Floyd. We are even more distraught when we realize that this is not anomalous.

We must ask ourselves a simple question: Would George Floyd be dead today if he was white?  I believe the answer is “no,” and that means we have to recognize the scourge of racism and how it cannot be ignored.

It is all around us but we have learned to ignore it if we are white or endure it if we are black.

No more. We must all take a stand. We are either racists or anti-racist. Time for equivocation has ended. As a community and a society, we need to look at the impact on all of us that racism has been allowed to have. And, we need to stop making excuses and deal with its terrible cost with a clear vision for the future.

This will require a lot of pain and honesty. I believe we can do this because we already know the cost of ignoring it, not just to the George Floyds but for all of us who have a soul.