Bearing Witness
"1 : to show that something exists or is true —+ His success bears witness to the value of hard work. ... 2 formal : to make a statement saying that one saw or knows something asked to bear witness to the facts She was accused of bearing false witness at the trial."
Between the end of April and May three men who played an important role in my life died -- my father Nelson Elmer George, my long time friend the record executive Andre Harrell and a man who mentored me from college student to professional scribe, the journalist/record producer Robert 'Rocky' Ford. I have tried during this strange and painful month to give some meaning to these loses. That these deaths happened in the middle of a pandemic (which claimed by father's life) and nationwide riots makes the search for meaning even more poignant and important. As I walked from Rocky's viewing today the phrase "to bear witness" came into my head and traveled with me as I tried to get my connect my sadness with action. A short walk from the funeral parlor was the 88th precinct which had taken on considerable damage from the police brutality protest last night. I've read the accounts from around the country and seen video of protestors, police and provocateurs in a live action contest to control the narrative: peaceful protest, maintaining civil order and calculated chaos all at the same time. In the person and in the political, in the intimate and public, the need for bearing witness is essential and cleansing. In the clear light of day, after the flames of marching are out, we still have to find sustainable ways to support change while we bury the dead.