Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam used his regular coronavirus briefing on Tuesday to address the protests over George Floyd’s murder, and gave significant time to several black leaders to share their thoughts and experiences.
“Our country is in a moment of turmoil and we have to talk about it,” Mr. Northam said Tuesday.
The governor said the death of George Floyd — a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than 9 minutes — is not a new heart break.
He noted a black woman who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, in March and a black man who was killed in February by a former police officer in Georgia as he was jogging.
“The protests that we have been seeing are for them and because of a system that continues to allow this to happen,” Mr. Northam said.
Mr. Northam shared the podium with state Delegate Dolores McQuinn; Wes Bellamy, interim chair of the Political Science Department of Virginia State University; Jim Bibbs, chairman of the Urban League of Hampton Roads; Shirley Ginwright, chair of the Fairfax Communities of Trust; Cynthia Hudson, a member of the state NAACP; the Revs. Kelvin Jones and Tyrone Nelson; and Naquel Perry Jr., a rising senior at Albemarle High School.
• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.
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