Veneration of George Floyd is racist and must be stopped

The deification of George Floyd harms black people and America.

The statues unveiled last week in Newark, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, New York, that memorialize the final nine minutes of George Floyd's life denigrate and diminish the reputation of black men.

George Floyd was a victim — of his drug addiction, self-destructive behavior, and Derek Chauvin's misconduct.

Floyd is not Jesus. He's not Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, or Medgar Evers, black men who died tragically in service of promoting racial fairness. Floyd isn't Crispus Attucks, the first man killed in America's Revolutionary War. Floyd isn't Emmett Till, an innocent victim of anti-black bigotry.

Floyd isn't any of the black men I know who are terrific fathers, husbands, providers, and protectors. Floyd isn't "Uncle Jimmy," my media sidekick, whose primary job is father to his young sons, James and Jamill.