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12 | JUNE 11 • 2020 

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Perhaps government 
officials responded to the 
protests in honor of George 
Floyd’
s life with tear gas 
because they felt threat-
ened by the fact that black 
Americans were finally 
gaining their breath. Perhaps 
the long-term effects of tear 
gas on the respiratory sys-
tem is the only way for lead-
ers of our institutions — the 
institutions our country was 
built on — to take the breath 
away from those who threat-
en this very system.
If you can breathe, you’
re 
privileged. And I don’
t just 
mean this in a literal sense.
If you are an individual 
who has time to breathe in 
between their sentences — 
an individual who does not 
feel the need to be fighting 
for their human rights in 
every single breath they 
take — consider yourself 
fortunate.
I acknowledge the 
fact that I can breathe. I 
acknowledge the fact that 
I do not need to waste 
a breath fighting for my 
rights. I acknowledge the 
countless breaths I have 
wasted on things that do not 
challenge our society to be 

better. I acknowledge the 
times that I have actually 
held my breath, instead of 
choosing to hold people 
accountable for their prob-
lematic actions.
That changes today.
When you are short of 
breath, you are commonly 
told to “just relax.” Maybe 
you are told to calm down 
or maybe you are told to 
take a deep breath. But black 
Americans — who are now 
gasping for air — cannot 
just relax. They cannot calm 
down, and they cannot solve 
this inherent issue by taking 
a deep breath.
Because the second they 
do, their voices will no lon-
ger be heard.
It is time for those who 
have the luxury of breath-
ing in society to play a part 
of a systematic change in 
which creates a society that 
protects the breath of all 
individuals — no matter 
the color of their skin. That 
change starts at the polls. 

Nicole Dean is a University of 

Michigan alum and Metro Detroit 

native. She is a member of 

Congregation Shaarey Zedek 

Synagogue in Southfield.

IF YOU CAN BREATHE continued from page 8

Greenberg’s View

BY STEVEN GREENBERG

