Like all of you, I have followed with attention the protests, “Black Lives Matter” that have taken place in recent weeks. In a sense, this is necessarily a very good thing as a collective awareness, and it pleases me a lot. But at the same time, I tell myself it is incredible that it took to see these terrible images of a man killed by police for things that happen.
Since the day of the death of George Floyd, I’m impressed by the extent of the support enjoyed by the Afro-Americans. When you see LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Barack Obama or Jay-Z to take the floor, we realize the importance that can have the voices of celebrities. I hope that all these actions that we can see, especially on social networks, will have a real impact on the way people look. My biggest fear, currently, is that this is only a trend. We put a photo on Instagram to show her support and as soon as something else is in fashion, forget it.
In the meantime that the crisis of the sars coronavirus is complete, I spend time in Houston. There have been many demonstrations and a lot of damage near me. I really hope that the peaceful protests will continue to occur regularly until a true and sustainable change to take place. I saw with great pleasure the images of demonstrations in Geneva or Lausanne. This proves that the problem is global.
Since I arrived in the United States, I have not been confronted to racism. The fact that I am a basketball player and that one recognizes me in the street certainly helped. In Switzerland, I have sometimes been faced with problems of this kind as I am born on this land and that I like to defend the colors of my country in basketball. This has made me evil. I know that it will take time for things to really change. The awareness seems to have taken place. Better late than never. It is now necessary that this depends on the duration.
It was my last column for The “Sunday Morning”. I thank you for having me read during these two years. Take care of yourself.
Created: 16.06.2020, 09h52
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