Former First Lady Michelle Obama took to Instagram on Saturday to share her perspective on the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd.
Obama urged all Americans to step up and root out racism.
She wrote, "Like so many of you, I'm pained by these recent tragedies and I'm exhausted by a heartbreak that never seems to stop."
She went on to write about the recent killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arber, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and Michael Brown.
Obama wrote, “Right now it’s George, Breonna, and Ahmaud. Before that it was Eric, Sandra, and Michael. It just goes on, and on, and on. Race and racism is a reality that so many of us grow up learning to just deal with. But if we ever hope to move past it, it can't just be on people of color to deal with it. It's up to all of us—Black, white, everyone—no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out."
Obama also shared her thoughts and ideas on how Americans could move forward together to prevent future killings.
She wrote, “It starts with self-examination and listening to those whose lives are different from our own. It ends with justice, compassion, and empathy that manifests in our lives and on our streets.”
Obama shared moving illustrations painted by artist Nikkolas Smith of Floyd, Abery and Taylor.
This follows a statement made by President Barack Obama made on Twitter earlier this week.
President Obama wrote, “It's natural to wish for life ‘to just get back to normal’ as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’ — whether it's while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.”
He went on to share, “This shouldn't be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can't be ‘normal.’ If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.”
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