The families of George Floyd, Eric Garner and Jacob Blake are inextricably intertwined with each other due to police brutality and their shared belief that they “are not looked at like humans.”
The three families are members of an exclusive club after their lives were “changed within seconds” after the men in their lives were either severely injured or killed for dubious reasons by law enforcement.
Members of the families agreed to a joint interview with “Dateline NBC” host Graig Melvin that will air on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2020, at 7 p.m.
“It’s one thing to talk to one or two people about your loss and what that person meant to you,” Melvin said. “Or in Jacob Blake Sr.’s case, not your loss, but having (your child’s) life changed in a dramatic way in a few seconds. But it’s another thing entirely when you are surrounded by other people who have similar stories.”
Floyd, Garner and Blake each became a cause célèbre due to the violent nature of their injuries and deaths.
Gwen Carr, the mother of Garner who was choked out by the NYPD for selling loose cigarettes in Staten Island in New York, described the kinship felt like one of unity.
“We all have a certain bond now because we know what it is to lose a loved one or to get a loved one so severely injured that it takes a part of us,” Carr said.
Blake Sr. added that these men were robbed of their humanity.
“It’s so easy to look at each one of these people here and know they get it, man,” Blake, Sr. said. “They get it. Because you never asked to be in this situation. But for somebody else’s racism, we’re in this situation because we are not looked at like humans.”
Take a look at the preview of the “Dateline” segment.
Tonight on an all-new #Dateline at 10/9c, @craigmelvin sits down with families of George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and Eric Garner. They formed an instant connection – one they didn’t choose – of shared pain. pic.twitter.com/Izwn7ycS0c
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) January 7, 2021
